The Mitchell Files 3
by Neuropsych
Summary: COMPLETE!(SG-1 Atlantis Crossover) A terrible loss makes Melony wish she was anywhere but where she is... (my first cross-over!) Rated for Language, and possible violence, once we get that far
1. 01

_Author's Note: So! This one is going to start out sad, just so you all know. Don't hate it, though. It's going to be a good story, and I've been working it out in my head for quite a while now. Once again, has taken away a symbol that I use in my writing - why is that, do you suppose? Since I can't make the symbols that I used to separate Talon's speech from Melony's, I have to come up with a new method. Talon's speech will be in italics Melony's will just be there._

Disclaimer: I don't own SG anything. I own Mitchell, and Talon, and anyone else I make up. All others are not mine, unfortunately!

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

_"Ashes to ashes... dust to dust... Where man comes from the ground we now return our friend and brother there, trusting in you, Oh Lord, to take his spirit into your arms and comfort him as we try to comfort those he's left behind. Amen."_

There was a murmur of Amens in answer to the final prayer, and all eyes watched as an honor guard of Military personnel approached the flag-draped casket. They gently and reverently took the flag from the casket and folded it, then solemnly marched it over to the waiting group of relatives who were dressed in the deepest black.

The flag was handed over to a young woman in the full military dress of an Air Force Colonel, and she clutched it close for a long moment, then turned to an elderly woman who was already in tears and being supported by five young men, all weepy-eyed, and all dark-haired and handsome.

"Mrs. Anderson, the people of the United States of America want to express their sympathy and their gratitude to you and your family for the sacrifice your grandson has made in the defense of this country."

Her voice was soft, but steady, although there was an agony in her pale eyes that went all the way to her soul. She handed the flag lovingly over to the elderly woman, and broke protocol by giving her a tight hug, unable to help herself.

_"I'm so sorry..."_

"Thank you, Melony..."

Emma Anderson took the flag that had draped her youngest grandson's casket, and wept softly, and Melony Mitchell turned to the boys – who were really fully grown men, of course – and snapped off a salute to them, which all the Military personnel in the crowd echoed. She held it for a long moment, then lowered her hand, and turned on her heels and walked away from the ceremony, determined to get away from the crowd before she broke down and cried.

As she left, she could hear the guns going off in salute. They covered her sobs well.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

_Where are you going to go?_

Home.

_And then?_

Nowhere. I don't want to do anything.

_I'm sorry, Melony_

I know, Talon.

How could she not know? He was inside her head, of course. She knew everything that he was thinking, like he knew everything she was thinking. Of course, he was also sharing her loss just then, and there was nothing the symbiote could do to ease the pain of her broken heart. He could – and did – shower her with all the affection and love that he could, but the loss was still so fresh, the pain so great, that there was no comfort.

_You shouldn't drive_

She was walking towards the parking lot. Of course, she'd come to the cemetery in the limo with Brad's grandmother and brothers, so she didn't have anything to drive, anyways, but she couldn't stay and take the limo back with them. She couldn't face them.

_It's not your fault. You weren't even there_

I should have been.

_There's nothing you could have done_

She knew that, of course. The accident had been so sudden, and so unexpected – what accident wasn't though? – that no one could have prevented it. One minute SG-2 had been on a routine recon mission – it wasn't as if they had to worry about Jaffa ambushes anymore, after all – and the next, an unstable swath of ground had crumbled underneath them and the entire team had plummeted into a sinkhole. Simmons had lived long enough to call for help, but by the time O'Neill had gathered a rescue team, there was nothing to rescue but the bodies.

It'd been a long time since the SGC had lost an entire team, and the shock had been plain in Jack's voice when he'd sent Melony the message to come home. She'd known before he said anything that something catastrophic had happened. Nothing shook Jack, but this time he was rattled. She'd broken off her negotiations with the minor – very minor – system lord Calypsos, and had rushed home as fast as _Fuglier_ could get her there. Only to find she was only in time for the funerals.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Melony..."

She'd been leaning against Jack's truck, her head buried in her arms. She felt his hand come down on her back, and the other take her arm, turning her. Mitchell allowed him to turn her, and she was engulfed in a hug, her face pressed tightly against his chestful of ribbons. She didn't even notice. All she could do was sob as she clung to him like a lost child.

"What am I going to do, Jack?" she asked him, brokenly.

"I don't know, love."

O'Neill's voice was just as broken. _He'd_ known those lost, and they were _his_ men. He felt just as empty as she did. Or very close to it. Even as he held Melony close, giving her all the support he could give her, he was clinging to her as well. Brad's had been the last of the funerals, and the capper to the roughest week he could ever remember having. At least in the last couple years.

He didn't know how long they were there. Melony didn't, either. Suddenly, though, they weren't alone. Daniel came up behind the two and pulled them into a rough hug, holding both of them tightly.

"Let's get you two out of here," he murmured.

Melony nodded, wordlessly, her face still buried in Jack's chest. She couldn't stay. As the bugle started playing taps, she broke down once more, her knees buckling. If not for Daniel and Jack holding her so tightly, she would have fallen. As it was, they both supported her, and managed somehow to get her into the truck.

"I'll drive, Jack." Daniel said.

O'Neill nodded, and handed over the keys.


	2. 02

_Author's note: Yup, this is the Atlantis Cross-over, and no, I won't kill McKay. I might need him later!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

Daniel was smart enough – and kind enough – to not take Melony and Jack back to her house. Her house was the absolute last place on Earth she wanted to go. Then, or ever again. There were far too many memories in that house. The house that she'd settled in, and had been deliriously happy in for the last two years since she and Talon had struck the decisive blow to finish off the Goa'uld system lords. Of course, she'd been off world as much as on, consolidating that tenuous peace – which was now almost complete – but she'd been happy, and Brad had always been there for her when she got home.

He'd been off-world, also. Just because the Goa'uld were far less of a concern than they'd been before, it didn't mean the SGC was out of business. There were worlds to explore and new people to meet. The teams were just as busy as they had been – busier, even. And Brad and SG-2 had been in the middle of it all.

Then there was the time Melony had spent with Carter and various eggheads, her and Talon working with the scientists to get Earth's defenses up and running, as they'd promised. It wasn't much yet, but the scientists didn't need her looking over their shoulders now to accomplish what was needed, so she'd been free to spend more time with Brad. Time that they'd thought would last forever, and was now just memories.

She was silent during the drive, looking down at her hands, which would occasionally blur with a new round of tears. In the truck it was impossible for Jack to sit right beside her, so she didn't even have the scant comfort of his arms around her for that time, but the moment the truck pulled into Jack's driveway, and Daniel stopped the engine, he was there again, his hands pulling her carefully out of the truck. Treating her as if she were made of spun glass and not the most powerful system lord that had ever existed.

"Come on, Melony..."

He led her into the house, an arm around her shoulder to support her in case she collapsed again, and Mitchell went without argument. She didn't have anyplace else to go, after all, and was painfully aware of that. Tears blurred her vision once more, and she would have hit the doorframe if Jack hadn't guided her through.

"Do you want to lie down for a while?" Jack asked.

She shook her head.

He settled her on the couch, pulled off his dress blouse, sat down beside her, and then pulled her once more into his arms.

She didn't cry, but she clung tightly to him, and there was no doubt in Jack's mind that she was thinking back to the day so long ago when he'd held her like this the day she'd buried her brother. That same ache, the same loss. He didn't know how she could be so calm – relatively – in the face of such hurt, but he was going to do whatever he needed to to help her through it.

"Is there anything I can do, Jack?" Daniel asked, softly.

"Make some coffee, Daniel, will you?"

Daniel nodded, and went into the kitchen, and Jack turned his attention back to Melony.

OOOOOOOOOO

She didn't have any coffee. She fell asleep before it was even finished brewing. This didn't surprise Jack; he knew she'd been up for days, and even with Talon's help no one could do that to themselves without eventually needing rest. As he picked her up and carried her into his guest room, Jack decided that Talon was probably the reason she was asleep now, although he'd never be able to ask the symbiote without Melony knowing. Probably, Talon had pulled her through the service but wasn't going to allow her to stay awake any longer.

That was fine. Jack was more than willing to take her in for as long as she wanted to stay. He was already planning on sending someone to take care of Brad's things out of Melony's house – but he'd wait on that, and would see if she was up to discussing that. Later. For now, he'd let her sleep. He undressed her, and covered her warmly – even though it wasn't cold – then left her alone.

"How is she?" Daniel asked, when Jack came back down the hall.

"She's asleep," Jack told him, taking the cup of coffee Daniel offered him. He walked onto the living room and sat down with a sigh.

"How are you?" Daniel asked, coming over and sitting in the chair across from him.

"I feel like shit."

"It's been a rough week."

Jack nodded, and leaned back against the cushion of the sofa, closing his eyes. He'd never felt older than he did just then.

"Are you going to keep her here?"

"If she wants to stay."

"She could stay with me and Janet..."

"I'll let her know you offer-"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, and Daniel got up and went over to answer it.

It was Sam.

"Hi."

"Hi, Sam, come on in."

This was good. Daniel had hoped that Sam would come by. Jack needed some support of his own – he'd spent all week supporting the families of the lost members of SG-2, and it was taking its toll.

"How's Melony?"

"She's asleep."

Sam went into the living room and sat down next to Jack, who opened his eyes long enough to make sure it was her, then closed them again.

"How are you doing?" She asked, resting her hand on his.

"I'm tired..."

"Anything I can do?"

He could think of several things. None of them sexual, but all of them physical, and none of them things he could ask of her. Generals did not ask Lt. Colonels to hold them. It just wasn't done. Bad enough when he'd been her CO on SG-1, but now that he was the CO of the entire SGC... it just wasn't done.

He felt her arms come around him, and felt her pulling his head towards her shoulder. Grateful for her willingness and courage to make him do what he'd never be able to do on his own, Jack wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the junction of her neck and shoulder, and took the comfort she was offering, in much the same way Melony had clung to him only a half hour before.


	3. 03

Mitchell didn't wake up that day. Exhausted and weary – both in body and spirit – Talon kept her asleep so she could regain some of her resources. Besides, he was weary as well, from a full week of keeping her reserves intact enough that she didn't fall on her face, since she literally hadn't been able to sleep since she'd returned to Earth. Bundled warmly in blankets and in a safe place surrounded by those who loved and cared for her, bad dreams and memories kept away on purpose by Talon, Melony slept deeply, and wouldn't wake until Talon allowed her to.

Jack O'Neill had checked on her several times that day, and had brought Janet Fraiser in to check on her as well. Just to be sure. He'd stayed in the warmth of Sam's arms far longer than he should have, and had found comfort there. Daniel was never far away, either, although the archeologist rarely did more than put a hand on Jack's shoulder and handle the endless phone calls from various people, calling to check on Jack, or to ask about Mitchell, who no one seemed to be able to find.

Brad's brothers and grandmother were leaving town, and Jack left the house just long enough to go and talk to them. They understood what Melony was going through, and none of them were offended by her absence – they had seen the pain in her expression, and they all knew how much Mitchell had loved their Brad. It wasn't surprising to any of them – the grandmother especially – that she had finally collapsed.

"You tell her for me, General, that she's welcomed at our house any time, and if she needs us, to call. We'll come running."

Clearly the Andersons still regarded Mitchell as one of their own, and always would.

Jack had promised to pass on the message, and had assigned a couple of drivers to make sure the Andersons made it to the airport in time for their flight and to see them off. Then he'd hurried back to his house, where Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were holding vigil over Mitchell in case she woke up while he was gone.

He sent them home when he got there. Sam and Daniel looked exhausted – their week as no easier than Jack's, after all – and Teal'c, who had offered to stay, had responsibilities of his own that needed taken care of that day. When they were gone, he'd gone into the guest room to check on her, and leaned against the door, watching her sleep for a long time.

His own exhaustion and concern that she'd need someone to cry on when she woke up found Jack changing into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and sliding into the guest bed next to her. He pulled her into his arms gently, unwilling to wake her, but also determined that she knew he was there if and when she woke up. She'd have done it for him, after all. And had.

She sighed in her sleep, but that was the only sign that she had that she was aware of him, and it only lasted for a moment before she settled back into her deep sleep. Jack was asleep almost as quickly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

She woke up warm. And enclosed in strong arms that she knew right away weren't Brad's, no matter how much she wished the last week had been a terrible dream and that it would all be okay once she woke up for good.

_It's Jack _Talon told her, unnecessarily. Melony knew there was only one person who'd hold her like this

How long have I been asleep?

_17 hours_

That long?

_You were exhausted_

She looked at the man sleeping beside her, and felt a fresh pang of hurt that gripped her heart so tightly her breath caught in her lungs and she thought she was going to pass out.

_Easy, love_

She felt Talon soothing, and it wasn't much, but it was enough.

_What am I going to do?_

She didn't think she could live without Brad. She couldn't remember hurting this badly when she'd lost Michael, after all. It didn't seem like the constant hurt was ever going to ease.

_You were busy with the Air Force Academy when you lost your brother. You had something to distract you from the grief_

True. That was what she needed, then. Something to do. Something to keep her mind off things. Something to keep her so busy that she wouldn't have time to think about what she'd lost. Something-

_That's not the best idea _Talon disagreed.

It's the only one I have.

Already she was considering possibilities in her mind – and Talon, of course, was following along as she did. There were a dozen minor system lords that needed taken care of. None were a challenge, but they were all far from Earth, which was where Melony wanted to be. She could go and finish consolidating the peace she and Talon had won two years before. That would be something to do. Something to take her mind of the hurt.

_You should stay here. With those who care about you_

I can't stay. I can't.

_Running isn't the answer_

I don't care.

With luck, the system lords would put up a fight instead of accepting her terms for peace – which would include them losing their Jaffa to the new Goddesses' army. An unprecedented army that had more than lived up to the dreams and hopes Mitchell and Talon had held for them. They were a force for good, now, and were only getting better. The colony was thriving, and more were being built under Tao's watchful eye. Melony wasn't even needed most of the time, so she'd hardly be missed while she was gone.

_You'll be missed_

Not by the Jaffa.

_By Jack and the others_

She hesitated, but eventually she shook her head. It didn't matter. They'd know she was safe, because there was very little out there she had to fear. She needed to go. At least this way she'd be doing something constructive. It was that, or fly _Fuglier_ into a sun and make the pain stop.

_You can't do that_

Obviously, Talon would never allow her to suicide. No matter how much she wanted to. He'd simply take control of her body and stop her. Mitchell wasn't a suicidal type, anyways. She'd live on, because she had to. But she wouldn't stay, and she wouldn't become a burden to those who were worried about her. She moved slightly in O'Neill's arms, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Jack?"

He woke up and found himself looking into her pale eyes. Eyes that were normally so cheerful and now held a bleak, dead look in them. A look that Jack had only seen once before.

"Melony..." He touched her cheek. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head, and closed her eyes for a long moment, then opened them again. They were bright with unshed tears, but she somehow held them back. Melony felt as if she'd never be all right again.

"Are you?"

Jack shook his head. How could _he_ be all right when she was in such pain?

"Where are my clothes?"

He pointed over to the corner, where he'd hung her dress uniform on a hanger and put it on a hook that would normally have held a plant – if Jack had any inclination to put one up, which he didn't.

She frowned.

"You can borrow some of mine," Jack told her, correctly interpreting the look to mean that she didn't relish the idea of getting dressed in full uniform to get out of bed. Of course, when Jack had undressed her the night before, he hadn't thought of what she'd wear later, or he would have asked someone to go get some of her things. He'd been tired, too, after all.

"Give me your shirt?"

She couldn't run around naked. Not even in front of Jack – who was pretty much a brother to her.

Jack pulled his shirt off and handed it over, and Melony slipped it over her head. Yeah, it was baggy and when she stood up it would hang rather low, but that was all to the good. Besides, it was warm from his body heat, and it was comforting to wear. She pushed the blankets back and rolled out of the bed, heading for the door.

O'Neill assumed she was making a trip to the bathroom, but when she didn't come back he got out of bed and went looking for her. And found her in the kitchen, leaning against a counter and crying once more.

"Melony..."

He crossed the room and put his arms around her, and she wept against his bare chest.

"I'm leaving, Jack..."


	4. 04

"Leaving?" He echoed. "What do you mean?"

She sniffed, trying to regain enough of her equilibrium to not sound quite so pathetic, then answered him.

"I'm going to go finish off the Goa'uld. There are a few minor system lords that Talon and I haven't concluded peace with, and I'm going to go do that..."

"You're running away..."

He knew her better than anyone. Of course he did, she thought bleakly. He was the only one she had left, now that Michael and Brad were both gone. This realization brought a fresh round of tears, and Jack held her tightly for a long time before she was able to respond to his accusation.

"I have to go, Jack... I... I can't be here. It hurts too much..."

It was his turn to cling tightly to her, to hold her close as he ran his fingers through her short hair.

"Melony..."

"I know it's running... I'm sorry... but I need to do it. Before I can... well... before anything else happens, I need to get the Goa'uld situation completely settled, and I can't do that from Earth."

"What do you mean before anything else happens?" He asked her, catching that fairly quickly. "What's going to happen?"

She shrugged, not looking at him.

"I don't know, Jack... I... just don't know..." He didn't understand there was no purpose in her life, anymore. No reason for her to _be_. She'd been so sure that once she'd settled the Goa'uld thing completely that she'd be able to stay on earth and settle down with Brad – maybe even figure out how to have a kid or two with Talon's help – that she'd never thought of what it might mean to lose him and have nothing to come home to. "I have to go..."

"You can't." He was truly concerned, now. She was making it sound like there was nothing left for her. How could he make her see that she was wrong? Of course, at that moment, he couldn't, because he couldn't think of anything to make her latch on to.

"Yes, I can."

"You're SGC personnel, Melony. That means you're _my_ personnel. You have to have my permission..."

She shook her head. It was just a technicality. She'd been her own personnel for almost three years, now. Once she and Talon had blended. She didn't need Jack's permission to go, and she knew it, and he did, too. She knew he was just worried about her, and was casting for a way to get her to stay.

"I'll be back, Jack." She promised him, still speaking into his chest.

"When?"

"I don't know. A month... maybe two..."

"Talon?"

The symbiote silently asked for and received permission to answer him.

"She'll be back, Jack," he confirmed. "Hopefully with new purpose in life..."

"Can't you do something about-"

"It's her life," he interrupted. "It was the promise I made to her when the two of us blended. She would help me with the Goa'uld, and I'd never force her to do anything she didn't want to do. I can't stop her. But I will protect her from herself as long as she needs me to."

Which was his way of telling O'Neill that he wouldn't let her do anything self-destructive. Or foolish. And that he would bring her home safely.

"How long?"

"No more than a month, unless something comes up – but I don't expect it to."

Jack sighed, and rested his chin on the top of Melony's head – a favorite position of the two from way back when. It'd been Mike's favorite way to hug his sister, too, Jack recalled.

"Melony?"

She was back in control, now.

"Hmm?"

"Wait another day, okay?" He asked. "At least long enough to get _Fuglier_ properly re-supplied and so I can make sure you're not going off half-cocked."

She _was_ going off half-cocked, and they knew it, but a day wasn't too much for him to ask for, and Melony knew it. She nodded.

"Okay."

Jack hugged her tight, moving his head so he could press a gentle kiss against her cheek. He tasted the salt from her tears, and moved his hand up to dry her face.

"I love you, hot-shot."

She sniffed, again, and her arms tightened around him.

"I love you, too, Jack."

How long they stood there was anybody's guess, and neither of them cared. Had someone who didn't know them chanced upon the scene, they might have thought it was a lover's embrace – especially considering the way they were dressed – and in a way it was. It was also completely necessary. For both of them.

Finally, he kissed her cheek again, and looked into her sad gray eyes.

"Are you hungry?"

She shook her head, but her stomach rumbled loudly at the same time, and Jack smiled, gently.

"Why don't I round up some breakfast?"

She nodded, looking over at the clock on his microwave. It was four AM. A bit earlier than she usually ate, but she was hungry, and he probably was, too, or he wouldn't have mentioned it.

Jack released her.

"You make the coffee."

"Okay."

Coffee was pretty much all she was going to be able to help him with, anyways. She'd never been much of a cook and in the last few years what little skill she'd developed out of necessity in her early years had completely faded once Brad had taken over the cooking chores in the household. When she was on the ship, it was always MREs, which of course, she didn't need skill to cook. Which was a good thing, or she'd have starved.

"Scrambled eggs?"

"Okay."

"Toast?"

"Fine."

He debated testing her by mentioning something she hated – liver, perhaps – just to see of she was really paying attention to what she was agreeing to, but his own mind was in turmoil just then, too, and he was only able to focus just what he had to to get the items together for their meal.

He didn't want her to leave. But, like Talon, he recognized that it was her life to live, and if she wanted to, he couldn't stop her.


	5. 05

"You can't let her go, Jack."

"I don't have a choice."

"Stop her."

"I can't."

"You _have_ to."

Jack scowled, truly frustrated at this conversation. Of course, it was the same one he'd been having with himself since Melony had told him she was leaving, and it was going to have the same outcome.

"What am I supposed to do, Daniel? Clap her in irons and toss her in the brig? She's going to go, and I can't stop her."

'Talon-"

"Has already told me he's not going to impose his will on her to stop her from going. It's her life, and she's free to do whatever she wants with it."

"She's going to self-destruct," Daniel said, worry plainly evident in every part of his expression and body. "Have you looked into her eyes lately?"

Of course he had. They were old, and sad, and dead.

"Talon's not going to let her hurt herself, Daniel. He told me he'd bring her home safely."

"Why does she have to _leave_? She could have Tao do this peace treaty thing, couldn't she? He's done a few others, I know."

"Why didn't _you_ go back to Abydos once you knew Sha're wasn't coming back? Why did _I_ have such troubles with Sara when Charlie died?" Jack shrugged. "It's painful for her to be here, Daniel. Everything she sees reminds her of Brad. I can understand that. Besides, I think she needs something to do – to keep her mind off things."

"That's not very healthy..."

"I know. _She_ knows. It's just the way it is. At least she'll have Talon to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

Daniel sighed, aware that he wasn't going to be able to talk Jack out of letting Melony go. Of course, he could also plainly see that Jack wasn't all for her going, and had probably tried to figure out a way to keep her from leaving – and just hadn't come up with anything.

"Maybe she'll let me go with her." He said, suddenly.

"What?"

"You know. To help her. It wouldn't be the first time we went on a mission together."

"She won't let you."

"She might."

"I already asked her if I could go and she said no."

"But-"

"Daniel, stop." Jack sighed, and put his hand on the archeologist's shoulder. "She's going to go, and we're going to all gather around and tell her good-bye, wish her a safe journey and remind her that we love her without driving her away with our guilt trips. Understand?"

"But, Jack..."

"It's not like you and I can't keep in touch with her." He held up his wrist, which had the device that Talon had helped Melony make to allow her to keep in touch with Jack while she was off-world with Talon. Daniel had one, as well, and it had never left his wrist. "She's going to go, and we'll have to hope that somewhere out there Talon will be able to help her find peace. Because I don't think she's going to find it here."

Daniel had to agree with that. He'd tried talking to Mitchell, and even though she'd been more than willing to talk, she hadn't opened up to him, and she hadn't lost that hopeless look in her eyes. She really didn't think there was anything left on Earth for her. Maybe if she went away for a while, Daniel conceded, she'd decide there was.

"All right, Jack..." he rubbed his face. "Maybe I'll go see if she needs help gathering supplies."

"She did that yesterday." Jack told him. "Go up top and help her pack the ship."

Daniel nodded, and headed for the door of Jack's office.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Fuglier_ was just as dangerous a ship as her predecessor had been, Daniel knew. True, she'd never been in a major combat scenario, but she had more weapons, and over the last two years, Melony had added a couple new advances in technology that made her shields almost as good as the ones the crystals had given _Fugly_. Since the explosion that had been the decisive blow to the System lords had also destroyed the majority of the augmenting crystals, there was no way to repeat that little trick with the shields, but Talon had adapted well, and had made do without. Daniel knew that nothing would pose a threat to Melony on her trip. And she knew it, too.

The little ship was in a closely guarded hanger. Mostly this was because it was lethal for someone to get to close to it unless they'd been 'introduced' to the ship. There was a bug zapper-like security device installed on it, and it couldn't be shut off, even when they were on Earth and doing nothing. This was to keep the technology from falling into the wrong hands, and Daniel could appreciate that. He nodded to the guards and walked through the little door on the side of the hanger, looking for Melony.

She wasn't in sight, which meant she was on the ship. Daniel walked across the hanger – it was rather large, and the ship was fairly small – and right up to the ship. He didn't fear the security device – he'd been introduced to it longer than anyone, after all. He felt a tingling as he crossed the barrier, and then went to the hatch.

"Melony?"

"In the hold."

The 'hold' wasn't really a hold. It was a small room she used to hold supplies. A storeroom about the size of a large walk-in closet. Daniel went inside the ship and found her right where she said she was.

"Hi."

She looked up from a package she was securing.

"Hi."

"I... thought I'd come by and see if you needed any help?"

"You thought you come by and see if you could talk me out of leaving..."

Daniel nodded, not at all surprised that she saw through him like that.

"That, too, I guess."

"I'll be back, Daniel."

"So I've heard. When?"

"A month or two."

"Why do you have to go?"

"Because I can't stay."

She turned and finished securing the box, and then moved on to another one. Most of the supplies she was taking were simple MREs, nothing too complex. A couple of books, and a few changes of clothing – all field utilities – and that was about it. Along with a large supply of coffee.

"Can I help you?"

If she was surprised by the lack of an argument, she didn't show it. She shook her head.

"I'm almost done."

"When do you leave?"

"In about an hour, I think."

She wasn't really on a schedule or anything, but it was the next day, and that was all she'd promised Jack. One day. She was ready to go, and anxious to leave.

"Got time for a last cup of coffee?"

"Sure."


	6. 06

_Author's note: Sorry this chapter isn't so long... it's necessary, though, of course. Also, I did something I normally don't like to do, and made time slip by fairly quickly in it. I could have written out more detail, but it would have been dull, and not fun to write...._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOo

They didn't have a goodbye party for her. There wasn't a ceremony or anything like that, either. Only a few people knew she was leaving, and those were the people who walked with her to the hanger when she finished her cup of coffee with Daniel. Janet, Daniel, Jack, Sam, Teal'c, and a few Marines who'd heard what was happening and had asked to come see her off. No fanfare, no parade.

There were a few hugs, some tears and a lot of promises to keep in touch, but no one tried to get her to change her mind, and no one clapped her in irons and tried to take her to the brig. All of them wanted to, though.

"Don't worry," she told Jack, giving him a final hug. Generals and Colonels didn't hug all that often, but she'd known him long before he was a General, and he'd met her when she was in pigtails and braces. God, they'd come a long way. "I'll be fine."

"You come back to me," he whispered, pressing a hard kiss against her cheek as he hugged her. "If you don't, I'll come looking for you."

"I'll be back."

She let go of Jack, and gave everyone a last look. Then she turned and passed through the invisible barrier of Fuglier's shields, and entered her ship without a word. A few moments later, the engines began to power up. A moment after that, the ship went invisible as well, and Jack motioned for everyone to move out of the hanger through the side door, while two of the Marine guards opened the main hanger doors.

Then she was gone.

OOOOOOOOO

"I can't believe she's gone..."

Jack turned to look at Sam, who was as pale as he felt. He tried to say something reassuring. That was his job, after all, right?

"She'll be back."

"I hope so."

Daniel put his arm around Janet, and the two of them walked off, with Daniel taking another look up into the air, even though he knew he'd never see her, even if she was hovering above them.

"Colonel Mitchell is quite capable of handling anything that is tossed in her direction." Teal'c said, putting his hand on Sam's shoulder. "I am certain she will return as she has said."

"Yeah," Jack said, sighing. "Me too."

He turned and headed back to the cavernous entrance to the SGC. He had work to do. Whether he felt like doing it or not. A moment later, Sam and Teal'c followed.

OOOOOOOOO

_Where shall we go first?_

"I don't care..."

_It's not too late to change your mind_

"I know. I'm not going to, though." Mitchell turned on the navigational display, and brought up a hologram of the closest star system that held one of the un-treatied system lords. "Let's start with Cereous, shall we?" She asked. He'd be the one that would put up a fight, if any of them did. Of course, she didn't really feel like killing anyone, she just wanted something to take her mind of how much she hurt, and a hard-fought battle was just the ticket.

_He's not going to put up a fight_

"I know."

OOOOOOOOO

Three days later, when she entered the system and encountered the first Prime of Cereous, she found Talon was right. The system lord immediately put himself at her disposal, and asked her for her terms. Mitchell outlined what she wanted, and had capitulation immediately. She sighed, and sent a message off to Tao, to let him know what had happened with the newest system lord, then pulled up her navigational display once more.

"_You_ choose this time..." She told Talon.

And so the month went.

One after another, they visited small star systems, which were ruled by petty tyrants. All of who knew exactly who Mitchell and Talon were and knew just how deadly they were. None wanted anything to do with her deadly little ship and all of them were more than willing to conclude a treaty with them.

By the time she'd finally concluded what she and Talon had begun two and a half years before, Mitchell was no closer to finding the peace of mind she'd been hoping to discover. She still ached every time she thought of Brad – a deep ache like an abscessed tooth – and even though she managed not to cry herself to sleep every time she laid down, she found it was just as easy to stay awake and not have to fight the tears back. Talon had to remind her to eat most of the time, and had to cajole her into sending occasional messages back to Jack so he wouldn't worry about her. Much.

"Where to now?" Mitchell asked, dully, a month and four days after she and Talon had left Earth.

_Home_

"Melonyville?"

_Earth, love. It's time you go back and face things_

"I don't want to go back, Talon. I'm not ready to."

_They need to see you. You need to see them. We'll figure out what to do from there, but you can't keep running. Besides, we're out of system lords_

That elicited a slight smile from her. He was right about that. The Goa'uld menace was completely shut down, now. Major and minor, all system lords were officially under her control now. She poured herself a cup of coffee – the only thing that had really kept her going this last month, besides Talon, of course – and sighed gently.

"Fine. We'll go to Earth and regroup. I'm not staying long, though. We'll find something to do elsewhere, even if it's helping the Tok'ra with their new colony."

_You can always be Mayor_

"Or President..."

The banter fell short, though. She wasn't in the mood for humor, and hadn't been much company for Talon the last month.

_Why don't you send Jack a message? Let him know we're coming?_

She nodded, and slid her hand along the device on her wrist.


	7. 07

"She's coming home."

SG-1 was sitting in Jack's office when he got the message, and they all reacted with similar smiles of relief. Even Teal'c, who was normally so stoic, seemed to have a slight lessoning in the tension around his neck and shoulders.

"When?" Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged.

"She didn't say when she'd get here, only that she was coming. God only knows where she is, so it could be a couple days, might be a week." He didn't care; he was just glad to hear she was coming.

"Did she say how she was doing?"

The messages they'd received – Jack and Daniel, that was – the last month were fairly short and hardly worth getting excited about. She was doing fine, she said, and making progress with the remaining system lords. Everything was going according to plan, and don't worry.

Of course, they'd worried. Jack looked like hell, Sam decided. Not only did he have all the duties of running the SGC, but to add to it, he was worrying over Mitchell so much and so often, she was surprised he didn't have an ulcer. And Daniel didn't look much better – although _he_ had Janet to look after him and bully him into sleeping and eating.

"No..." Jack looked down at his wrist and read the message again. "Just says she's coming home, and will see us soon."

"Well, that's something," Daniel said.

Sam nodded her agreement.

"Yeah..." Jack didn't look so certain. He'd received lots of messages from Mitchell since she'd given him the device he was wearing, and most of them had been fairly upbeat and cheerful. The past month, all his messages had been... flat. Dull and lifeless, and it hadn't changed as the time had gone by. He had a feeling she was still searching, and was only coming home because Talon was making her – or because she'd given her word. Or maybe both.

"If she's _here_, we can watch her," Daniel said.

"Not if she's planning on leaving again soon."

"Where would she _go_?" Sam asked. "She could go be with the Tok'ra, but truth be told, I don't think she likes very many of them, and I can't see her staying there."

She, in truth, disliked a number of the Tok'ra, mainly because of their policies before the peace had come concerning the Tau'ri. Melony was quick to anger and slow to forgive, sometimes, and she hadn't liked the way the Tok'ra – most of them – had viewed the alliance with the humans on Earth as a 'let's see what they can give us, but mostly we'll keep whatever we find' sort of deal. Jack knew this and knew she was unlikely to go there and surround herself with them.

"She could go to Melonyville," Daniel said. "She has quite a set up there."

"She'd be alone."

"She wants to be alone, Jack..."

"I don't want her-"

"Sir," Sam interrupted. "Let's wait and see, okay? There's no sense getting twisted up about this until we know there's a reason to be. Maybe she's done what she set out to do and has found her peace with things..."

Jack looked skeptical, but he nodded. He'd get twisted up about it, but he wouldn't let it show. They could wait and see, but he was pretty sure they'd find her to be the same as when she'd left.

OOOOOOOO

He was right.

She came back two nights after Jack received her message. In the middle of the night, with her ship cloaked and orbiting Earth – since she didn't dare land it anywhere that someone might accidentally run into it and kill themselves without even knowing how – she beamed herself down to the surface, positioning her landing near Jack's house, since she was fairly certain at this late time he'd be home and in bed.

She was half right.

She had a key to his house. She'd always had a key to his house and had never found a reason to give it back. This particular evening she was glad that she had it, because she figured she could use it and let herself in, then sack out on Jack's couch until morning. She never even considered going to her own house. She hadn't been there since the accident, and had vowed she never would. Eventually, she'd have to decide what to do with it, but not then.

Jack was sitting on his sofa, his feet propped up on a coffee table and a cup of coffee in his hand, staring at a picture of Michael and himself in their flight suits. He looked over when he heard the key in the door, and was on his feet in an instant. By the time Melony had the door opened, Jack was there, ready to clobber whoever was breaking in. And he stopped at just the last instant, surprised to see who it was.

"Melony..."

"Jack."

Her eyes told him long before anything else could. They were achingly sad. Infinitely miserable, and just plain empty. There was no cheerfulness. No gleam of amusement that there should have been at having caught him in a pair of sweats with Mickey Mouse on the butt. She hadn't found her peace.

He pulled her into his arms, and she went willingly, burying her face against him as she held him close. More than willing to take the solace he offered, but unable to actually apply it to her own hurts.

"I missed you," He told her, squeezing her tightly as if he thought he could just squish her pain and send it away.

"I know. I missed you, too."

He reached over with one hand and shut the door again, made sure it was locked, and then led her over to the couch.

"How are you?"

She shrugged, looking down at her hands.

"The system lords are all under my control now. We finished the last of the minor-"

"Melony. That's not what I asked."

"I know."

She saw his cup of coffee on the coffee table where he'd left it when he'd went to the door and picked it up. Still hot. Good. She took a sip, and frowned.

"It's spiked," Jack told her, unnecessarily.

"Gah."

She didn't mind the taste of whiskey – especially good scotch like this was – but she hated it when it ruined the taste of good coffee.

"How are you?" He asked again, taking his cup from her and taking a sip, himself.

"About the same as I was when I left," She admitted.

"Is there anything I can do?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head, and Jack pulled her into his arms again. There was something he could do – whether it helped her or not, it was what she needed – and he did it. He held her close, reminding her that even though she thought she was alone, she wasn't. She had him.

"I'm sorry..." Her voice was breaking, now, and Jack felt the sting of tears in his eyes. "I tried to get better... I-"

"You're going to get better, Melony," Jack assured her. "It's just going to take time."

"I was away for a month-"

"Time _here_."

"I'm not staying here, Jack."

"You could stay with Sam..."

"That's not what I meant. I'll stay here – with you – tonight, but I'm not staying here on Earth any longer than it takes for me to decide where to go next."

"You can't keep running away, Melony. It's going to follow you wherever you go."

"I can't help it," she sniffed into his shirt. "I can't... stay here. All I have thought of was him since I saw the planet on the viewscreen."

"And _before_ you saw the planet?"

"All I thought of was how empty I feel."

"At least sleep on it, okay? You can't make a decision like that when you're wiped out."

She looked like she could use some sleep. And a good meal or two – although Talon was capable of making sure she didn't lose an unhealthy amount of weight, and he probably had been taking measures to remind her to eat.

She nodded, but he was sure that she'd already made her mind up – long before she'd seen the planet on the viewscreen. Probably before she'd sent her message telling him she was coming.


	8. 08

Jack woke up before Melony did the next morning. No surprise there, really. She was tired, and whether she believed it or not, she was in a place that she loved, and with someone she needed to be with, and that helped her sleep deeper than she had in the month since she'd left. O'Neill paused at the door of the guest room just long enough to check and make sure she was sleeping, then closed it gently and went into the kitchen. He started a pot of coffee – knowing it would be the first thing Melony wanted when she woke up – and then picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Daniel's very sleepy voice answered on the third ring.

"Good morning."

"Jack? What are-"

"Melony's home. I thought you'd want to know."

"She is?" Suddenly Daniel was wide awake. "How is she? Did she say anything? What-"

"She's not staying."

"What? She has to."

"Daniel." Jack had had this conversation with him a month ago, he couldn't have it again. Not before a cup of coffee, at least.

"I'm coming over."

Like he'd be able to talk to her where Jack had failed? Oh, well, _maybe_ he could. Who knew?

"Fine. I'll make breakfast."

He hung up and went to take a shower.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was the smell of coffee that woke Melony up. Good coffee was always worth being pulled out of a sound sleep for, and she took a deep breath, savoring the smell before she even opened her eyes.

_You know, addictions are bad, right?_

Coffee isn't the same as cocaine.

He gave her a purely mental caress – kind of a good morning hug – and left her alone. It was the first time she'd shown any sign of wanting to banter, and while he was glad to hear it, he wasn't going to push for more and remind her why he was pushing.

Melony pushed back the covers and went out into the hallway.

The sound of Jack showering told her that he was awake and getting ready for the day, and she remembered how she used to love sneaking up on Brad when he was in the shower like that. A pang of hurt laced through her, constricting her heart for a moment. God, she missed all that. She missed him.

Melony turned and started to head back for the bedroom. Maybe she wasn't ready to get up, just yet. She should probably go back to bed for another couple of hours.

_Your coffee_

I changed my mind.

Coffee didn't sound so great just then.

_Melony. Turn around and go have a cup of coffee. It'll make you feel better_

She scowled, and almost told him to go to hell, but it wouldn't have done any good to, and he wouldn't have deserved it if she had. He was only looking out for her, and she knew it. She sighed, and turned back around, and headed for the kitchen once more.

"Melony?"

The water had turned off without her noticing, and Jack stuck his dripping wet head out of the bathroom door – although the rest of him was quite hidden.

She looked around the entrance to the hall.

"Yeah, it's just me, Jack."

"How'd you sleep?"

She nodded.

"Fine. You want some coffee?"

"Yes. I'll be out in a minute," he told her, and his head disappeared back into the bathroom.

She found two mostly clean cups, and poured the coffee, then took hers and walked to the table, where she sat down with a sigh.

"Daniel's coming over for breakfast," Jack called from down the hall where he was going from the bathroom to his bedroom. "You want anything in particular?"

She noticed he didn't ask if she wanted to cook, and she didn't offer. Unless they were having heated water, she wasn't a lot of help in the kitchen, and Jack knew it.

"No. Whatever you make is fine."

She took another sip of her coffee, and felt the tense muscles in her back and shoulders relax just a little. Maybe she was addicted...

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

When Jack came out of his bedroom a few minutes later, he was ready for his day. In contrast, Melony – who was still seated at the table and almost finished with her first cup of coffee – was looking rumpled and sleepy. Her blonde hair was sticking out to the side in a couple of places, and flat from the pillow on one side, and there was even a line on her cheek where she'd fell asleep on her dog tag's chain. Dressed in Jack's sweats and a baggy t-shirt, she looked like a kid playing dress up. A sleepy, sad-eyed kid.

He wrapped his arms around her from behind and hugged her tightly for a few moments.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Jack."

"You don't mind Daniel coming over?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all." She suspected he was coming over to try and talk some sense into her, but Melony didn't mind that, either. Maybe he would be able to. Who knew? Nothing else seemed to be working, after all. She looked down at herself, seeing what Jack had seen. She wasn't really dressed for company.

"I think I'll go take a shower..."

OOOOOOOOO

"You _can't_ go, Melony..."

Daniel's blue eyes were filled with sincerity and concern as he looked at her from over his coffee cup.

She shrugged, looking down at her own cup.

"I can't stay, Daniel."

"Why?"

"Because it _hurts_..." She swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat, and tried to explain herself – again. "I... I hate this place, now. I can't be here."

"We need you here."

She shook her head.

"No, you don't." That much was true, and she knew it. "The Goa'uld aren't a threat to Earth anymore, and with the defenses coming online soon, I'd just be in the way here."

Daniel looked over at Jack, hoping for some help, but O'Neill had already tried and failed to make her see reason. It was Daniel's turn.

"Why don't you come back to the SGC? Take over a team?"

"I don't want to... I..." She shrugged. She couldn't take another team. "I can't. It'd be too similar to... before..." A tear fell and landed on the back of her hand, and she wiped it off.

"Well... why not just be an advisor? Jack could probably use the help in the-"

"Daniel. She doesn't want to be at the SGC," Jack told him. That much was clear, and he understood completely. "But he's right, Melony. There has to be something you can do to keep yourself occupied."

"I don't want to keep _occupied_, Jack," she told him – told them both. "I want to go. I want to leave."

"You can't run forever."

"I know."

Daniel was looking at both of them, trying to think of something to say that hadn't already been said by one of them. He wracked his brain, trying to come up with some project, some... mission... that she could take on that would be enough to keep her from feeling useless, and at the same time would challenge her enough that she'd accept it. And it popped into his head so suddenly, he actually gasped. Melony and Jack stared at him.

"Why don't you send her to Atlantis, Jack?"


	9. 09

_Author's Note: Okay, this is an AU, remember.... Which means my version of the Atlantis story is going to be a little different than the TV version. (Mainly because there is no Goa'uld threat, obviously) so no correcting me!_

OOOOOoOOOOOO

"Atlantis?"

Jack and Mitchell both looked at Daniel with varying expressions. Jack's was skeptical. Mitchell's was curious.

"Yeah."

"You mean you actually did it?" Mitchell asked, her eyes actually showing an interest in something for the first time since she'd come home for Brad's funeral. "You sent a group there?"

Jack nodded.

"We did, but we don't know how they're doing. We haven't heard back from them. For all we know, they're dead."

"Or they're running out of food and waiting for us to send them more."

"Or they're dead."

"I'm sure they're alive, Jack. But we won't know for sure until we send someone."

"Yeah? And say we send Melony? How is she going to get home?" He scowled. "For that matter, how is she going to get there? We don't have any more of those ZPM things, remember?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Mitchell asked.

Jack took a sip of his coffee.

"We figured out – well, not me, of course, but everyone else did – the address to what they think is Atlantis."

"Yeah, I remember you mentioning that to me... You weren't sure about a power source to get there, though, right?"

"Or to get back. We didn't want it to be a one-way trip, after all."

"So you found a power source?"

This was all news to her. She'd been so busy with her own consolidating that she'd only had time to barely listen to what had been going on in the SGC – except what Brad had been doing, of course.

"We did. But all we had was enough energy to get it to dial the gate once, and we didn't have another one to let them use to dial themselves home. We were hoping they'd find more of the ZPMs on the other side."

"And they haven't?"

"We don't know," Daniel said, speaking up for the first time. "We haven't heard from them, yet, so we have to assume they haven't."

"Or that they're dead," Jack said. "We know the room they gated to was safe enough for them – viable atmosphere and all that – we just don't know what else was there..."

"You sent scientists?"

"We sent scientists, Military and put them all under the command of Doctor Elizabeth Weir."

Mitchell didn't know the name, but that wasn't a big shock to her.

"A civilian?"

"Yeah."

"How long have they been missing?"

"We sent them a week before... the accident."

Melony felt that oh-so familiar ache, and she bowed her head under the weight of her grief for a long moment.

"So if they're alive, they probably need resupplied..."

"If they're alive." Jack said.

"And we're not sure how to dial there without another ZPM. The one we have is pretty close to being depleted." Daniel added.

"I could go check on them... and take supplies to them..." It was perfect, as far as Melony was concerned. How much further could she get from Earth than that?

"We're not going to keep sending team after team," Jack told her. "I'm not going to keep risking people on –"

"I don't need you to send a team with me, Jack."

"If they're dead – or they've moved on to someplace else for some reason – you're going to need backup."

"No. I have Talon. I don't need anything."

"It's too dangerous."

"And ambushing the entire Goa'uld system lord contingent wasn't?"

Jack scowled.

"I didn't want to let you do that, remember?"

"But it worked." She countered. "And I lived, and Daniel lived, and now we don't have any more Goa'uld to worry about, do we?"

"It's not the same."

"Sure it is." She was actually getting excited about this, although she wasn't letting it show too much.

"We can't gate you there, Melony," Daniel said. "We don't have enough power left in the ZPM."

"I bet Talon and I could rig something up with our remaining crystals. Something to enhance what little power is left in the thing."

Jack wouldn't take that bet. He was sure they could, too. He hadn't even thought to ask them.

"It's too dangerous..."

"I want to go."

"You might never come back."

"I'll come back. And I'll bring them back, too."

Jack frowned, and Melony watched him as he tried to make a decision that he'd probably end up regretting.

"Can you keep in touch with us through the wrist things?" Jack asked.

Daniel already knew that answer, even as Melony shook her head.

"Probably not. It's pretty far, right?" She asked Daniel.

"Pegasus," he confirmed.

Melony shook her head. "No."

"So we wouldn't be able to check on you..."

"You sent that other group, knowing you wouldn't be able to check on them."

"That's different. They weren't going alone."

"Neither am I."

"Talon's not backup, Melony. He's just health insurance."

"Which is more than they have, right?" She asked.

He nodded, grudgingly.

"So send me, with a ton of supplies to replace what they've already used. If all else fails, at least they'll have one more person helping them try to find a way home."

"Or you'll be stuck there all alone..."

"With a ton of supplies, and as much chance of figuring out a way home as anyone." She told him. "I can get home. You just have to send me there."

"You don't even want to see Atlantis," Jack said, exasperated.

"No. I just want to be anywhere but here." She wasn't going to lie to him. She never lied to him.

"We don't even know if we can send her, Jack," Daniel said. "Why don't we see what she and Talon can do? If all else fails, maybe we can at least get hold of them through an open gate to find out of they're okay?"

Jack shrugged.

"Fine. We'll see if you can rig something up. But no promises."

"Fine."

If they could rig something up, Melony was going to go through it – whether Jack wanted her to, or not.


	10. 10

"So who's in charge of the Military aspect of the Atlantis team?" Mitchell asked more than four hours later. She was standing in Carter's lab with Daniel and Sam, studying the mostly dead ZPM.

Daniel looked over at Sam, knowing she would know. He wasn't sure.

"Colonel Sumner." Sam answered, watching as Mitchell attached some kind of crazy device she'd retrieved from _Fuglier_ before coming to the base with Daniel and Jack.

"Wayne Sumner?"

"That's the one."

They all looked up at the sound of O'Neill's voice. He'd just walked into the room as she asked the question.

"That's good." She said, turning back to the device and jotting down a note on a piece of paper she had close by. "He's a good man."

"Yup."

"And he was commissioned long before I was, so he outranks me." That meant there was no worry that she'd have to be in charge of anything. Melony wasn't going to Atlantis to be in charge of things.

"True."

"Good."

"How's it coming?" Jack asked, changing the subject. He didn't like thinking about her going off to Atlantis and there was no point discussing who was running things there – especially with a dead ZPM that he was pretty sure wasn't going to have enough juice for anything, even with help of those crystal things.

"There's power in it," Melony told him, checking the device in her hand once more.

"_Enough_ power?" Daniel asked.

Melony shook her head.

"Not on its own."

"We knew that, though," Sam said, reasonably.

"What about the crystals?"

Melony shrugged.

"I need to do some calculations with the gate, and then run a couple of simulations..."

"When will you know, Melony?" Jack asked. The sooner she found she couldn't go, the better.

"Give me an hour or so, Jack."

He nodded.

"I'll be in my office."

"I'll come find you."

She didn't watch him leave; she'd already turned back to the ZPM.

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was closer to two hours before she finally knocked on his door. Jack looked up from the paperwork he was working on – God, he _hated_ paperwork – and waved her in. Daniel and Carter were both with her, still, and both were looking excited – which told Jack far more than he wanted to know.

"We can do it," Daniel said.

"Do what?" Jack asked, putting his pen down.

"Send Colonel Mitchell to Atlantis." Sam told him.

"There's not much of a window," Daniel interjected. "We wouldn't have the energy to keep it open long, but if we move quick enough once we dial the gate, we can send them a lot of supplies."

"And maybe even have a chance to send a message to them – even get one back."

"Maybe." Sam temporized. "I'm sure we can get a message to them, but we have to assume that the gate on that side has something to keep enemies from coming through – and that by now, the team would have found it and figured it out – so we have to let them know that it's us, first, then we can send stuff once we've given them a chance to open their shield."

"You mean they might have an iris...?" Jack asked, scowling. "I'm _not_ going to risk-"

"Jack. If they have one, they can open it, just like we do." Melony said, speaking for the first time. "We send them a code – or a message – and then start sending shit through. Hopefully, by the time _I_ go through, they've already got the thing open."

"And if they don't, you're dead."

"They might not even have one. We don't know."

"I'm not willing to risk that, Melony." He said. "I'm not willing to risk _you_."

"It's not that big of a risk," she told him. "We tell them it's Earth, and send a code that an SG team would have and recognize. They'll know it's us, and open up. You would, right?"

"Yes."

Of course he would.

"So will they."

"Why don't we just send them the ZPM and the crystals and a note on how to use it to get them home?"

"Because the crystals and the ZPM will be attached to the Stargate," Melony told him.

"And the ZPM will be drained completely by this dial up," Daniel added. "For that matter... we're not going to have a lot of time as it is. Certainly not enough to enjoy lengthy radio conversations. _I'm_ thinking that it might be better to send _Melony_ through first, before the supplies, just in case the crystals lose their strength sooner than we expect them to."

"What?"

"Just as a precaution, Jack." Melony said, taking over. "The supplies are important, of course, but I'd rather I was on the other side before the gate lost power – if the crystals failed."

"I'd rather you were on _this_ side."

"Jack."

They'd discussed that, already. He scowled, and looked into her pale eyes for a long moment. There was no doubt she was eager to do this. No doubt that she wanted to go. God, she was more animated than he'd seen her in... well, since the accident, for sure – and maybe before that, even.

"Are you that eager to leave me?" He asked her, softly.

Melony turned and gestured for Daniel and Sam to leave them alone for a minute, and the two scientists left without a word, knowing that what was going to be said was personal. Daniel shut the door behind him, and Melony turned back to O'Neill.

"I'm not doing this to get away from _you_, Jack. And you know it."

He sighed, and nodded. He knew it. He also realized the conversation was turning into a guilt trip – which was the one thing he'd sworn to himself he wouldn't do to her – but he couldn't help it.

"But you're leaving me..."

"I'll be back."

"I need you here."

"No, you don't." She rested her hand on his. "You're surrounded with people who love and respect you, and you know it. I love you more than anyone, and you know that, too, but you don't need me. I haven't even been around all that much the last couple years."

"But I always knew you were going to come back."

"And I'm going to come back, again."

"You can't be sure."

"I'll be back."

She _was_ sure. He could see it in her eyes, and in the set of her posture. She'd already survived far more than anyone had ever believed possible – _done_ more than anyone could ever imagine – what was Atlantis going to throw at her that she and Talon couldn't face?

Jack sighed. The thing was; he knew she was right about being the best suited to go. With Talon to keep her safe if she got hurt, and with the added strength and intelligence the symbiote gave her, there really wasn't much they couldn't handle. Maybe they'd even find a way home. Maybe even with the members of the lost team?

"If you don't come back, I'm going to be pissed."

Melony smiled. The first true smile Jack had seen on her face in far too long.

"God forbid I piss off a General..."

"That's right... You'll find yourself stationed in Siberia."

"I _like_ the cold... maybe I could learn to snow ski."

"Just come home as soon as possible, okay?" He told her, ending the banter, but also telling her with those words that he'd decided to let her go.

"As soon as I can, Jack."

"And tell Sumner I said to put you on the stinkiest, crappiest detail he can find for you."

"Oh... I don't think I'll pass that order along, General Sir..."

O'Neill smiled, and touched her cheek. Her eyes were tinged with sorrow, still, but there was a spark in them as well. One he was glad to see – even though it meant she was risking her life.

"When do you go?"

"How long will it take for you to get the supplies together?"

"A day."

"I'll leave tomorrow."

He nodded.

"Tomorrow night."

She nodded her own agreement.

"Better recall all your teams that are off-world. I'm going to have to do some fancy fiddling with your dialing computer, and we don't want them stuck off-world."

Good idea.

"Don't break it."

"Moi??"

"Smart ass."


	11. 11

Melony spent the day with Jack. He had responsibilities, of course, that he couldn't put off, but she had never needed to be entertained by him – she simply wanted his company. So she hung out with him in his office and watched as he went about his daily routine. Paperwork was a bane of his – and always had been, but she turned him down when he suggested she do some of it for him. She was less enamored of paperwork than he was, and she knew nothing about running the SGC, so she figured he was better off doing it himself, and told him so.

Jack scowled, but went back to his work, and Melony went back to watching him.

Occasionally she'd ask him a question about the Atlantis expedition – who went, what they'd taken for supplies, what was being gathered for her to take with her – ad Jack would stop what he was doing long enough to answer. Mitchell vaguely recognized a couple names of the people O'Neill mentioned, but there was no one she knew well – except Colonel Sumner, who she'd known for years.

Finally Jack tossed his pen in the garbage with a grumbling noise.

"Let's go find something else to do."

"Shouldn't you be working?"

"Who's going to tell on me? And who will they tell?"

Good point.

They left his office and went down to the embarkation room where a large pallet of supplies was being assembled, and was growing larger as they watched.

"Are you going to have time to take all of it through?" Jack asked her.

"As long as it's on something that moves fast, I should."

"Too bad you can't take _Fuglier_, huh?"

Melony nodded. Her ship was little, but it wasn't _that_ little. _Fuglier_ would stay in orbit around the Earth while Melony was gone. Safe and more or less out of the way. It would have been nice to have, though.

"She'll be okay where she is. Just don't let Daniel try to take her for a joy ride."

Jack smiled at that mental picture.

"I'll do my best."

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was midmorning the next day when Teal'c came up to Melony – who'd been once more watching the teams adding in last minute supplies. She took this job seriously, and wanted to make sure she had everything that the Atlantis team might need. Not to mention whatever she, herself, might need.

"Colonel Mitchell, I would appreciate a word with you, please."

She turned, and looked up at Teal'c. He reminded her a lot of Tao – her first prime. Or maybe Tao reminded her of Teal'c. Whatever it was, she was fond of both Jaffa, although she rarely showed that affection.

"Sure, Teal'c. What's up?"

Teal'c frowned at the technician that was standing closest, and the man wandered off a little – more or less out of earshot.

"I would like to accompany you."

"To Atlantis?"

"Yes."

She frowned.

"Have you discussed this with Jack?"

"O'Neill does not know we are having this conversation."

Meaning Jack hadn't suggested to Teal'c that he go keep Melony company (protect her).

"I can't let you come, Teal'c," Mitchell told him, almost reluctantly. She would have loved the company on the chance that the Atlantis expedition had moved on somewhere else, but Teal'c was definitely needed where he was. "They need you here."

"Not as much as they have in the past. With the Goa'uld threat now diminished, I –"

"There are other dangers, though," Melony said. "Dangers that we count on you protecting the other members of your team from."

"I am aware of that," Teal'c said. "However, I agree with O'Neill that you should not depart unaccompanied. What if something happened to you?"

Mitchell shook her head. She wasn't going to have the same argument with Teal'c that she'd already had with Jack.

"You can't come, Teal'c." She told him. "As much as I appreciate your offer, I would feel a lot better if I knew you were here, watching Carter's back and keeping Daniel out of trouble."

He nodded. He wasn't going to argue with her about it, either. He'd decided he would tender his offer, and if she accepted, great. Otherwise... well, he'd at least tried.

"But you can come see me off." She told him, giving him a smile.

"I intend to."

And the conversation ended on that note. Teal'c went off to take care of some business he had, and Mitchell went back to watching them load the final pallets of supplies – which were now mostly MREs and ammunition.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Teal'c wasn't the only one there to see her off. Most of the SGC was present, even though it was after duty hours. Jack had accompanied Melony to the supply room when she'd decided it was time to gear up – most of her own personal supplies were with the first pallet of stuff that would be sent through the gate right behind her – but she'd definitely go ready for a fight, on the off-chance she ran into unfriendlies once she was through the other side.

"P-90?" Jack asked, pulling one of the little machine guns down off the wall of the armory.

Mitchell nodded, pulling on a Kevlar vest and adding all the little things to the pockets that she might need – Swiss army knife, matches, and all sorts of little things like that.

"You'll need a zat."

"Think so?"

"If you don't take one, you don't go."

She snorted, but nodded, and added another holster. She already had her Beretta strapped to one leg, and now she was going to look like a gunslinger with criss-crossed holsters for the other weapon. Ah well. Jack was right; a zat was a good weapon to take. She took the zat from him and put it in the specially designed holster.

"Take this, too." Jack said, holding out another handgun. It was Jack's Beretta.

"I have mine," she told him.

"You'll need a backup gun. I'd like it to be this one."

She knew he had a more sentimental reason than just the need for another gun, and she didn't have to ask what it was. The gun would protect her when Jack couldn't. She took it, and stuck it in a holster designed to go in the back of her waistband. She added a large knife and shook her head. She looked like the Terminator, or something, with all those weapons hanging off her.

_You might be glad for them by the time we're done_

Yeah, I know.

Of course she knew. That was why she was taking them all.

"Ready?" Jack asked.

She nodded.

"All set."

He hesitated. He wouldn't really be able to say good-bye in the embarkation room with the eyes of the SGC on them, so he wanted to do it here.

"You promised you'd be back..." He reminded her.

"And I will."

"Don't take too long."

"Soon as I can. I swear."

"I love you."

She smiled and hugged him close.

"I love you, too, Jack. Take care of yourself while I'm gone, okay?"

"Don't I always?"

Mitchell snorted, and let him go.

"Let's go do this."

They walked to the embarkation room, passing Marines and other Military personnel who wished her luck and sent her off with various slaps on the back and shoulders. The door opened, and Melony walked across the room, her Beretta slapping against her thigh with each step. When she reached the bottom of the ramp, she stopped, standing in front of the large mountain of supplies that they'd send through the gate behind her, and looked over her shoulder.

Daniel and Sam were in the command center, where they'd be watching the power output of the gate. Jack walked over and stood beside Teal'c, who was standing off to the side where he'd be out of the way of those who'd be sending supplies through.

"You sure about this?" Jack asked her once more.

She nodded, giving him a cocky grin.

"Dial it up, Daniel."

The gate started dialing, and a moment later it flared to life. Melony trotted up the ramp, knowing she didn't have much time, even as a small army of people grabbed the controls for the hydraulic sleds that were going to convey the supplies, and Sam hastily sent off a clipped message through the newly opened gate, sending them SG-2's Iris code and an alert to open their shielding – if they had any.

Without looking back, Mitchell went through the gate.


	12. 12

Peter Grodin was the first to realize something was happening.

The young man had been fiddling with a few modifications they were always making to one of the control pads – trying to make the Ancient's technology a little more compatible to their own computers that they'd brought with them – when suddenly the gate began to dial. Unlike the gate back home, this one dialed fast, and by the time he'd hit the alarm button to alert the others, the gate was already swooshing open, and there was already a very staticky radio transmission coming through.

The young man was so shocked by the sudden contact, he almost missed the first loop of the transmission.

_"'...Stargate Command, we're sending supplies and a traveler through... if you have a shield, lower it please. Repeat; this is Stargate Command, we are sending a traveler through the gate, please lower any shielding you might have...'"_

"Peter?"

Elizabeth Weir came over, alerted by the alarm, and Grodin looked up at her.

"It's Earth. They're sending someone through with supplies..."

Weir looked at him in surprise, and then at the gate, which was shimmering behind the protective forcefield.

"You're sure it's Earth?"

"They're sending a transponder code," he confirmed, looking over as Major John Sheppard arrived on the scene with a small security force. "It's SG-2's code. No one could know about our codes but them."

"Lower the shield." Weir commanded, turning to look at the Stargate once more.

Only a moment after the shielding went down, a single form emerged from the Stargate, leaping through. Weir had an impression of someone young, almost definitely female and lithe – and bristling with weaponry. There was a pause as the person looked around and stepped to the side, and then a pallet of what had to be supplies emerged from the gate behind her. And then another almost immediately after that.

Weir felt a surge of excitement and relief – they'd been getting seriously low on some supplies – and had just started to take a step towards the stairs that led down to the floor of the gating area when something completely unexpected and unprecedented happened.

From out of nowhere, a beam of energy struck the newcomer, engulfing her in a hazy blue light. As Weir watched, there was a cry of surprised pain, and the newcomer crumpled to the floor, writhing in obvious pain.

"What the _hell_ is that?" Sheppard asked, alarmed.

"No clue!" Peter said, just as shocked as everyone else at the sudden attack by the city on one of their own.

"Turn it off!"

"I don't even know where it's coming _from_..." He was looking at his circuit board, dumbstruck.

"It's killing her!" Weir shouted. "Turn it off!"

Even as the newcomer struggled with whatever was happening to her, there were more supplies coming in, oblivious to the fact that the messenger was being bombarded.

"I'm trying!"

Sheppard pulled his pistol out of his holster, raised it and pointed it at the device on the wall the beam was emanating from and fired into it. Six times in rapid succession. The beam shut off, and the agonized writhing stopped. The newcomer lay still, almost lifeless, and the Stargate shut down. All of them stared in shock.

"What the hell was that?" Sheppard asked, being the first to recover. He was already on his way down the stairs when Grodin answered.

"I don't have a clue. It came out of nowhere, and I've never seen it do that before..." He looked at Weir, who was coming out of her own daze at such a violent greeting. Elizabeth shook her head; she didn't know.

"Did we get a message off to Earth?" She asked, hopefully. She hadn't even thought of it, but hopefully someone else had.

Grodin shook his head, ruefully. He'd been too shocked by the sudden turn of events to do more than try to find out what was happening. He hadn't even give thought to sending a reply.

"I'm sorry..."

"What happened?"

They all turned at the sound of a new voice, and Rodney McKay walked through the door, obviously just come from eating lunch, since he was still holding his sandwich.

"We need a medical team!" Sheppard called, and McKay looked down at him. His eyes widened when he saw the copious amount of supplies suddenly materialized from nowhere.

"Where did those come from?"

"Earth." Weir said, moving to the stairs and down them, followed by Rodney. In the background they could hear Grodin calling for a medical team. "They sent someone, but something happened and this weird beam... how is she, Major?" Weir interrupted herself as she and McKay came close to where Sheppard was kneeling next to the downed form, his hand resting gently on her neck, searching for a pulse.

"She's alive, but unconscious."

"_Who_ is she?" McKay asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

Sheppard gave him a reproachful look, but ran his hands along the woman's neck, following the dog tag chain until he found her tags. Moving carefully to avoid injuring her further, he leaned over to read them.

"Melony Mitchell." He looked at her insignia on her uniform. "Colonel Melony Mitchell."

"What? _Really_?"

McKay dropped down next to Sheppard, and leaned close to read the tags himself.

"Wow! What's _she_ doing here?"

"You know her?" Sheppard asked, before Weir could. Obviously, he knew something they didn't. Big shock there.

Rodney was looking at the still form in amazement.

"Yes. I mean, no. I don't _know_ her. But I know _who_ she is. You guys-"

"What's this?"

They all looked over at the arrival of Carson Beckett, who was rushing up with a first aid kit in his hand and a small army of medics right behind him with a gurney.

"She's been hit with some beam, Carson," Weir told him. "I've never seen anything like it."

Beckett dropped next to Sheppard and started his examination.

"Is she going to be all right?" McKay asked, still holding the sandwich, although it was obvious it was the last thing on his mind just then. Which was, in itself, an oddity.

"I just got here," the Doctor said, pulling out his stethoscope. "Give me a chance to find out what's wrong with her."


	13. 13

_Author's note: Yes! You guys knew what it was before I had to describe it. That's good for a couple reasons, and the biggest one is that that means it's not so far-fetched that the Ancients would have such a device, so I don't have to justify bringing it out! Woot!_

OOOOOOOOOOO

"What kind of beam?" Beckett asked once he'd listened to his patient's heart and found it beating fast, but steadily.

"It's probably some sort of defense mechanism," McKay said. "Most likely to keep the Goa'uld from coming to Atlantis and looting the place."

"Goa'uld?" Everyone looked at him with various degrees of confusion.

"Mitchell's a Tok'ra," McKay explained, absently.

"What's a Tok'ra?" Sheppard asked.

Beckett, though, made an odd noise. He knew what one was; he'd just never worked on one before.

"Let's get her to the infirmary," he told his medics. "I'll want complete blood work done, on her and the symbiote, and make sure we have dual monitors hooked up to her so we can keep track of the health of both of them."

"A Tok'ra is a Goa'uld," McKay told Sheppard.

"A _good_ Goa'uld," Weir added.

"A what?"

Sheppard was distracted from his questioning when a weapon clattered to the floor as the medics picked Mitchell up to carefully put her on the gurney they'd brought. He reached out and picked it up. It was Berretta, and in fine condition. Well-oiled and worn in enough spots to tell Sheppard that it wasn't new, but when he checked the load and cleared the chamber, the action was as smooth as if it were. He tucked it into his waistband. He'd give it back when she woke up.

McKay stood up when they loaded Mitchell onto the gurney, and he followed the team of medics and Beckett when they left the room. Obviously, he was far more interested in her health than he was in explaining to Sheppard what a Goa'uld was – or figuring out the device that had attacked her.

Weir stood as well, looking at the piles of supplies.

"Peter? Let's get these supplies inventoried and added to our own, and try to figure out where that beam came from – and make sure it's disabled."

Grodin nodded, and called for some helpers, and Sheppard scowled. He still hadn't learned anything. He turned and headed out the door, figuring he'd learn more in the infirmary.

OOOOOOOO

"Wow, look at all the weapons..."

Beckett frowned at the medic who was pulling Mitchell's gear off her inert form.

"Try not to set anything off, okay?" He wasn't all that comfortable around guns and the like, himself. He had this bad habit of becoming a klutz when he was holding anything mechanical in his hand that didn't have to do with medicine or medical research.

He finished his initial exam almost before they had her stripped out of her uniform. There were no signs of any external injuries, and it didn't appear that she had any broken bones – but he'd do x-rays to make sure, and a CT scan to check for any internal injuries. Maybe an ultrasound to check the symbiote.

"How is she?"

He looked over and saw that McKay had come over to stand next to him, looking down at Mitchell, with obvious concern.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I was just-"

"Get out of my infirmary, and take that sandwich with you."

Like he needed an audience? It was bad enough he didn't know how she was – or how the symbiote was – he certainly didn't McKay standing over his shoulder while he tried to figure it all out.

"I was just-"

"I'll have them put you down with a sedative that would knock out an elephant – with a needle as big as your pinky."

McKay frowned.

"I'm going... jeez..."

He turned and left the room, looking over his shoulder as an X-ray machine was brought over and they started taking pictures. He almost ran into Sheppard, who was coming into the room as he was leaving.

"Don't go in there." McKay warned. "Carson's in something of a snit."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

McKay shrugged his shoulders, giving the Major an innocent look.

"_Nothing_."

Sheppard let it go. He followed Rodney out the door, and back into the hall.

"So... you know who this Colonel Mitchell is?"

"Obviously."

"So?"

"So?"

Sheppard counted to ten.

"So who is she?"

"She's a Tok'ra. Well, not _originally_. She's an Air Force officer, obviously. A _Colonel_. A close friend of Jack O'Neill's, I might add."

"General O'Neill?"

"Do you know of another?"

"McKay..." Sheppard's voice was low and warning Rodney not to mess with him. As much as John didn't normally mind the Astrophysicist's smug manner, it was a bit annoying at this time.

"McKay..."

They both turned as Elizabeth Weir walked up to them, looking confused.

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"You know this Colonel Mitchell?"

"Yes. Well... we're not _friends_ or anything, I-"

"Yes, you said that already. But you know who she is?"

"Yes."

"So?"

McKay was tempted to do the whole 'so?' thing all over again, but the impatient look in Sheppard's eyes warned him he'd find himself tossed out a window and swimming if he tried it, so he fought off the temptation.

"She's an Air Force Colonel who was injured in a mission – I'm not sure what exactly – and was blended with a Tok'ra symbiote."

"What's a symbiote?" Sheppard asked, but Weir held up her hand.

"I'll explain that in a minute, John." It was always better to not interrupt McKay when he was talking. Mainly because he'd forget his train of thought, and you'd have to start over. "Go ahead, Rodney."

"Well, the symbiote is named Talon – that's not his real name, but it's what he prefers to be called – and apparently, he hated the Goa'uld as much as Mitchell did, because the two of them left Earth not long afterwards, and started a serious campaign to kill the system lords."

"Wait... I thought a Tok'ra was a Goa'uld?" Sheppard asked, thoroughly confused. Not that he knew what either was, but if it was a Goa'uld, how could it hate its own kind enough to want to kill them?

"It is," McKay said, exasperated.

"I remember hearing about that," Weir said. "Mitchell went on some crazy killing spree, right?"

"Not _crazy_, Elizabeth." McKay said, obviously annoyed at the question. "She wasn't crazy at all. But yes, she's the reason the Major here doesn't have a clue what a Goa'uld is."

"Why's that?" Sheppard asked.

"Because they're no longer a threat to Earth and her allies," McKay told him. "Mitchell killed them all, took over their Jaffa armies, and is now literally the most powerful figure in the known galaxy. In terms of one person with armies and ships and weaponry and all that stuff at her control." He clarified.

"So what's she doing _here_?"

"How should I know?"

"We'll have to wait until she wakes up." Weir said.

"You'd better hope whatever that thing was you said hit her didn't kill Talon," Rodney said.

"Why's that?" Sheppard asked.

"Because if the city killed the symbiote, then it's killed the host."

"Host?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. Could Sheppard really be so obtuse? Did he sit in his quarters and practice it at night?

"Mitchell."

"Oh."

John was quiet for a moment, looking at the now closed door to the infirmary.

"What's a Goa'uld?" He asked, again.

Weir smiled, despite her concern for the newcomer – both because she knew Sheppard would keep asking until someone answered, and because of the sudden look of annoyance on McKay's face.

"Rodney, you go help them make sure that anti-Goa'uld device is really off-line, and I'll explain to Major Sheppard what a Goa'uld is."

"And a Tok'ra..." Sheppard added.

"Yes."

"Fine. But I want to be told when she wakes up," McKay said. "I want a chance to talk to her."

"Fine."

McKay left, and Sheppard turned to Weir.

"This Mitchell person must be someone special..."

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you ever seen McKay so impressed with someone?"

"Well..."

"Besides himself?" John clarified.

"No."


	14. 14

She was drowning in an ocean of pain. Not that this was all that unusual – Melony had been hurt before, and several times it had been serious enough to really hurt. But this time was different, because the pain wasn't Melony's. The beam that had struck so suddenly had been targeting Talon, not Mitchell. Of course, the pain that Talon felt was felt by Melony as well, so it wasn't much different, but the little difference there was was substantial, since Talon was in no position to try and ease Mitchell's pain like he normally would. The result was excruciating, and waves of hurt coursed through her so rapidly that her body had reacted the only way it could – and she'd passed out before the beam had even been disabled.

The pain was still there when she found herself wading through it towards consciousness. It wasn't so bad – which was why she was able to fight through it – but again, she didn't have Talon to help with it, and it was emanating from him – which she found extremely uncomfortable.

Talon?

There was no answer, but she knew he was still there. Hurting, but holding on. She was suddenly aware that someone was touching her, fingers on her temple, brushing gently across her skin. Considering the way her head was pounding with every heartbeat – hers and Talon's both – it was almost painful to be touched.

She opened her eyes, intending to tell whoever it was to knock it off, and found herself staring into the very concerned eyes of a complete stranger.

She groaned before she could tell him anything, and her eyes closed against the bright light of the room. Yeah, when was she going to learn to open her eyes slowly? She heard a whimper, and realized it had come from her, and the fingers on her temple stilled.

"Easy..."

His voice was soft, and soothing, and she knew he was a doctor. Somehow doctors just seemed to have the best voices for soothing.

"Where...?" She couldn't seem to get the words out, but he must have known what she was asking.

"You're in the infirmary at the Atlantis base."

His voice wasn't just soothing; it had a lilting brogue that she found appealing. Mitchell had always loved a good accent.

She forced her eyes open, although she wanted nothing more than to sink back into unconsciousness. She _really_ hurt, and opening her eyes only made her hurt that much more.

"Who are you?" She couldn't lift her head from the pillow, but he was close by, so she didn't need to. He was close enough that she didn't even seem to have too much trouble focusing on him.

"Doctor Carson Beckett." He smiled, and she felt the fingers stroke her temple once more. Melony closed her eyes.

"Hurts..."

"I know..." The fingers continued to caress her temple, which continued to throb. "We can't find an injury to you, but your symbiote seems to have taken the brunt of the attack, and it's in shock – near as I can tell. I'm not sure what to do for it... any clue?"

Mitchell was having trouble focusing her thoughts on anything but the pain in her head – most of which was an echo of Talon's.

"Is he hurt?"

"Not that I can tell. Not physically."

"I'll take care of him..." she whispered, and turned her thoughts inward, closing out the touch of the doctor, and the bright lights of the infirmary that she could still see even through her closed eyelids.

OOOOOOOOO

Mitchell had been in close contact with Talon for almost three years, now. She'd felt him heal her countless times – every thing from simple cuts to serious injuries – and she knew more or less how he did it. There was something in his genetic make up that allowed him to use her energies and his healing abilities to take care of her. Now she was going to see if she could use her energies, and his healing ability to do the same thing to him. She'd never imposed her will on him – he'd never tried it to her, although he could – but she had a feeling if her will was strong enough, she might be able to do it back at him. Which was what she was counting on in this instance.

Ignoring the pounding in her head was difficult, but she was well disciplined – the Military did that for you, after all – and she forced the pain away by sheer force of will. Focusing on that part of Talon that he used so often to heal her, she felt along their bond until she actually had control of that part of him, and she took control of it. Instead of focusing the healing energies on herself – which she suddenly realized she could have done – she turned it on him.

His body was a lot different than her own, of course. His system was far more complicated than hers, and his psyche was incredibly strange to her even after so much contact. It didn't matter, though. She knew what to do now that she had control, and she did it. Using her own resources, she sent healing energies through his system, easing the affects of the shock the beam had caused, and soothing the hurts that were wracking him – and her. The longer she worked, the more the pain eased, and as his pain became more manageable, so did her own. The pain was fading, but she was exhausted, now, from the work she'd been doing, and she finally withdrew from the close contact, and slept.

OOOOOOOOO

Beckett watched as she closed her eyes. The doctor wasn't exactly sure what she intended to do that he couldn't, but he sat next to his patient's bed, his fingers gently rubbing her temple as he watched, waiting to see something happen. When nothing did, he decided that she probably hadn't meant she'd take care of it just then – maybe she'd planned on sleeping first? He sighed, and looked over at the monitor that was keeping track of the symbiote. Its vital signs were fluctuating far more wildly than Mitchell's were, and although it could have been normal, he didn't think it was. They were just too abnormal, and the doctor in him deduced that such randomness was bad, no matter what the creature was.

He pulled back, with a sigh. He was the only one in the infirmary just then, and as such, he didn't mind showing just a little of the frustration he was feeling. He'd cleared the room in concern that if the host died the symbiote might try to jump to another, but really it looked like the symbiote was the one in trouble and was taking Mitchell down with it.

Then, almost imperceptibly, he realized that the symbiote was showing signs of changing biorhythms. Beckett turned and looked at Mitchell, noting that the pained lines in her brow and around her closed eyes were easing slightly at the same time. Wishing he knew more about the Goa'uld so he could know if this was good or bad, all the doctor could do was sit and watch, and hope for the best.


	15. 15

"How is she doing?"

Carson looked over at the sound of Weir's voice, surprised by her sudden appearance. He'd been so intent on the monitors that he hadn't heard her enter the infirmary.

"She's sleeping."

"And the symbiote?"

The medics had told her that most of the concern was centered around the symbiote – which had apparently been the target of the beam, as McKay had suggested.

Beckett pointed to one of the monitors.

"It's doing a lot better than it was when they were admitted, but I'm not sure if the readings I have now are normal for a symbiote or not, so I'm just going to have to wait until she wakes up again, and hopefully she'll be able to tell me."

"_Again_?" Weir asked, looking down at the sleeping woman. She was probably a bit younger than herself – she certainly looked younger – but who knew? "She woke up?"

"Only for a minute. She was in a lot of pain."

"Did she say anything?"

Beckett shook his head.

"Nothing worth writing to mother about. Just asked where she was, and who I was..."

"I see. Any clue when she'll wake?"

He shook his head.

"Did you give her anything to make her sleep?"

"I haven't given her _anything_. I don't know what she can, and what she can't, have. When she wakes up next I'll find out." He sighed in frustration. "I didn't even think of doing any research on taking care of Goa'uld, you know? I should have, but I didn't. I was too busy with-"

"There was no reason you'd ever think you'd have needed it, Carson," Weir told him. "The Tok'ra on Earth aren't _on_ Earth often, and they _never_ need doctors – that's the whole point of the symbiote, right? And it's not like you could just ask one to let you study him or her. They're almost definitely not in the modern journal of medical research, are they?"

He shook his head.

Weir patted his shoulder.

"I'm sure you're doing fine. Just let me know when she wakes, please?"

"I will."

Elizabeth turned and walked out of the infirmary, leaving the Doctor to his vigil.

OOOOOOOO

"How is she? Can I see her now?"

She frowned.

"Rodney, she's not awake yet, so _no_, you can't see her."

The Astrophysicist made an impatient noise, and turned his back on her, but he only moved about three steps down the hall before turning and once more leaning against the wall, obviously planning on waiting right there.

"Have you figured out the beam?"

"What?" he looked up at her, and made another impatient noise. "Of course I have. It's just what I thought it was. Some kind of anti-Goa'uld device, used to keep them from forcing their way into the city using the Stargate."

"Did you disable it?"

"No, Elizabeth. I thought it'd be entertaining to see Colonel Mitchell get zapped every time she walked into a new room."

Weir scowled. If it weren't for the fact that she needed him, she'd have shot him out a torpedo tube weeks ago. Of course, they hadn't _found_ any torpedo tubes, but that was beside the point, wasn't it?

"Did Beckett say when she might wake up?" Sheppard asked. The Major had walked to the infirmary with Weir, but hadn't gone in since he hadn't wanted to be in the way. Besides, the whole snake inside the Colonel thing was kind of weird and he wasn't sure what he would have said if Mitchell had been awake. 'How's the snake'?

Weir shook her head.

"He's not sure, but he did say she was awake for a couple of minutes, so that's probably a good sign."

"Probably."

"I'm going to go check on the supplies. It looks like there's a whole stack of stuff that belongs to Colonel Mitchell, so you can help me decide where to put her when she gets out of the infirmary."

"Well, that should be difficult..." Sheppard said, sarcastically. There were tons of rooms open, still.

Weir smiled, and the two of them turned to go.

"Rodney?"

"What?"

"Don't pester Doctor Beckett."

McKay gave her an annoyed look, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I wasn't planning on it, Elizabeth."

"Well... don't."

She and Sheppard headed down the hall, and McKay snorted.

"_Pester_..." He stepped a little closer, and leaned against the wall, trying to peek into the door, and mumbling to himself. "I don't pester people..."

OOOOOOOO

She felt him stirring, and it pulled her from her sleep.

Talon?

_Here_

How are you?

_I feel like shit _he complained

Mitchell couldn't help the mirth that bubbled up inside her, despite the fact that he was still aching enough to make her ache, too. He'd spent entirely too long with her, that was for sure. She was corrupting him. She felt annoyance from him for a moment, then he, too, found the humor in his statement, and the two were quiet for a moment, silently giggling like a couple of children.

_What happened?_

I'm not sure. Something attacked you when we came through the gate.

She gave him a moment to sort through her own memories, knowing it'd be easier for him to learn what she knew if he took it from her mind. She couldn't really remember all that much that had happened, anyways, and it was almost like she was reliving the events as he went through them. The pain was remembered as agonizing, then her awakening and short conversation with the doctor, and then Melony's own inner explorations into the link the two of them shared, and her subsequent healing of his injuries.

_How did you figure that out?_ He asked her, genuinely impressed with his host. As far as he knew, a host had never healed the symbiote before.

I don't know. It just made sense when I thought about it.

_You did good, Hot Shot_

You're going to be all right?

_Yup_

Then how about doing something about my headache?

There was a flash of amusement.

_Give me a bit, okay? I'm not quite at one hundred percent, yet._

Slacker.


	16. 16

She remembered to open her eyes slowly this time. It helped that Talon reminded her. Bad enough the symbiote had his own aches and pains, he didn't want to add to them by her making her headache worse with a sudden blinding light.

Mitchell saw that the doctor – what was his name? – was in the same spot he'd been in the last time they'd talked. If you could call that short exchange of words an actual conversation. His eyes were closed, though, and it was obvious he was dozing in his chair. At least he wasn't touching her head this time.

Do I wake him?

_How badly do you want an aspirin?_

She reached out and rested her hand on the doctor's arm, which was the only part of him she could reach. He jerked awake, surprised, and looked over at her. His expression went from surprise to relief in an instant, and he smiled – which did a lot to keep her from feeling guilty for waking him.

"You're awake? That's good!"

Again, she heard the accent, and once more found it appealing. She started to say yes, but it came out as croak. A completely unrecognizable croak. He smiled again, and stood up and disappeared for a moment, then returned with a cup. It was too much to hope that it was coffee, but Melony definitely wouldn't have said no to a drink of water just then.

"A little water should help," he told her, holding the cup to her lips for her. Melony nodded and took a sip, then another.

_Not too much just yet_

She raised her hand, signaling she'd had enough, and Beckett pulled it back and sat down once more in his chair.

"How do you feel?" He asked her, softly. "Do you remember my name?"

It was a good way to see if she had her wits about her, yet, or if she was only just sort of awake.

What's his name?

_I don't know._ Talon had his own aches to deal with, still, and didn't have time to worry about that. _I think it began with a 'B'_

"Be...cker..." She whispered, still feeling the affects of a dry throat and a nasty headache.

"Close enough," Beckett said, reaching over and checking her cheeks with the back of his hand. She hadn't been fevered before, and he wanted to make sure that was still the case.

"What..." she frowned, and tried to look around, but her head was just pounding. "What happened?"

"You ran into an anti-Goa'uld device of some sort," Beckett explained. It was all the explanation they'd given him so far, so it was all he could give her. "How is your symbiote?"

"You know about him?"

Had she told him she was Tok'ra? She couldn't remember that, although she remembered him asking about Talon once before.

"Doctor McKay knows about you. He told me."

"McKay..."

She thought back to the records of those who'd gone on the Atlantis expedition. The name McKay was on the list, although she didn't know him.

"Rodney McKay..." Beckett clarified, wanting to keep her talking so he'd be able to judge how she was doing. "He's an Astrophysicist."

"Ah..."

She rubbed her face with the heel of her hand, as if trying to rub the headache away.

"I need to talk to Colonel Sumner."

There was a slight hesitation, now.

"_Wayne_ Sumner," she said, then frowned, realizing that Sumner's real name was Marshal, and they'd only called him Wayne because of a long ago private joke. A joke none of these people would know about – because it was damned sure Sumner hadn't told them. "_Marshal_ Sumner," she clarified, wondering why the doctor was looking at her like that. "He's a Colonel..."

"I'm sorry, Colonel Mitchell," the doctor said, softly. "Colonel Sumner was killed."

She couldn't have felt more numb if he'd kicked her in the side.

"What?"

"He was killed the day after we arrived..."

"How...? Who's in charge, then?"

"Doctor Weir is."

"Not of the Military units?"

They'd never let a _civilian_ take over command of the teams of Air Force personnel that had escorted the civilians, would they? No way.

"No... she's in charge of the expedition. Major Sheppard is in charge of the Military units."

"_Major_?"

Shit.

Melony closed her eyes, feeling as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. Apparently, she looked like she had been, too, because she felt the doctor's gentle hand on her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, if Colonel Sumner was a friend of yours. This must come as a real shock to you..."

Not as much of a shock as finding out she was the ranking Military officer on the freaking planet – or whatever they were on. She closed her eyes tighter, unwilling to face this just then.

"Do you want me to get Major Sheppard?"

She sighed, and nodded.

"And Doctor Weir, please..."

Might as well face them both. Besides, she had to find out what happened to Sumner.

"I'll be right back."

The hand left her cheek, and she heard him stand up and walk away.

OOOOOOOO

"Is she awake?"

Rodney had heard the murmur of conversation through the door of the infirmary, and when it opened and Beckett stepped out, he was standing right there, ready to intercept him. Beckett scowled; he'd already had a hard day, and it was getting worse. Telling someone that their friend was dead wasn't easy – and it was obvious that Mitchell had known Sumner from her reaction.

"She's awake," he confirmed. "But she wants to see Major Sheppard and Doctor Weir. Not _you_."

"Did you _ask_ her if she wanted to see me?"

"No. It's not a bloody_ petting zoo_, McKay. When she wants to see you, I'll let you into the room to see her. Until then, keep out."

McKay frowned.

"You don't have to be so rude. I was just – hey, where are you going?" Beckett had already turned and headed down the hall.

"To get Weir and Sheppard. Stay out of my infirmary."

"Humph."

McKay waited until he had turned the corner, and then slipped into the infirmary.


	17. 17

Mitchell looked up when the stranger walked up to her bed. Of course, everyone here was a stranger to her, so she was going to have to come up with a better way of classifying people eventually, but stranger would do for now. A quick glance told her that he definitely wasn't Elizabeth Weir, and she was fairly certain that the man wasn't Major Sheppard, either. He didn't look at all military, and after a lifetime of being around servicemen, Melony was a good judge of who was one.

The man came over and sat down in the chair the doctor had just vacated, his eyes never leaving her, and a slightly awed expression on his face. Mitchell wasn't a huge fan of being stared at, so coupled with her pounding head, there was no way she could avoid the scowl that came to her face.

"Who are you?"

"Rodney McKay." He held out his hand.

"The Astrophysicists?" She didn't give him her hand, but he didn't even notice. A pleased and extremely smug look crossed his face.

"You've heard of me?"

Considering Doctor Becker had mentioned him only moments before, yes. Mitchell wasn't going to say that, though. The man looked so pleased, and she wasn't normally cruel – even with a headache. Why burst his happy little bubble?

"Um... a little."

She felt Talon's amusement, but ignored it.

"Well, I've _definitely_ heard of you," McKay said. "I know all about you and Talon, and I must say, it's really something to have-"

"McKay!"

He started; suddenly looking incredibly guilty, and the two of them turned and saw Dr. Becker coming back into the room, accompanied by a dark-haired woman – who had to be Weir, and a man in one of the gray Atlantis Military outfits – who was probably the Major that Becker had mentioned.

_Sheppard_ Talon supplied.

Thanks.

"You're not supposed to be in here," Becker told McKay, and Mitchell noticed when he was angry his accent was even more pronounced. Get him furious, and she'd bet you couldn't even understand him.

"I wasn't hurting anything," McKay said, standing up and looking defensive. "I just wanted-"

Sheppard had walked over to stand by the bed, and had offered Mitchell his hand while Beckett had been yelling at McKay.

"John Sheppard."

Melony took his hand; glad to see he didn't have the awed look on his face as well. She wouldn't have been able to handle two of them just then.

"Melony Mitchell." She said, introducing herself. "You need a haircut, Major."

_Oh, that's diplomatic_

Yeah, I know.

She hadn't meant for it to slip out – she'd observed that his hair was messy – and the observance had just popped out. Had she been feeling better, she wouldn't have mentioned it. At least, not immediately, and not in front of civilians.

"Sorry." He said, smiling, slightly. "I'll get that taken care of."

"Sorry Major," Melony said, giving him a wry smile of her own. "I'm not exactly at a hundred percent..."

He gave her a true smile, this time, and she noticed it reached his eyes.

"No problem, Colonel. It was still a warmer welcome than the one we gave you, huh?"

"There is that."

"Colonel Mitchell? I'm Elizabeth Weir."

"Doctor Weir, right?"

She nodded.

"I must say, I really appreciate the supplies you've brought us."

"They're getting a little worried about you folks at the SGC," Mitchell said, rubbing her forehead. "Jack O'Neill figured if you hadn't moved on, you could probably use some provisions – and extra ammo, batteries, stuff like that."

"Moved on?" Weir asked.

Mitchell shrugged.

"They weren't sure if you were going to be here..." She didn't add that they weren't sure the team was alive. That went without saying. Obviously they were alive, although they must have taken some casualties, since Sumner was dead.

"You gated here without being sure there would be a welcoming committee?" Weir asked.

"Well... I'd hoped for a slightly better reception than the one I got," Mitchell told her, still rubbing her head.

"Yeah... sorry about that. We didn't have a clue the thing was there until it turned on you."

Beckett hadn't missed Mitchell's obvious discomfort.

"Would you like something for your head, Colonel Mitchell?" He asked.

"She _has_ something for her head," McKay said. "It's called a symbiote."

"Some Tylenol would be great," Melony told Becker. "A whole bottle."

Beckett left her bedside, and Mitchell looked over at Sheppard.

"What happened to Colonel Sumner, Major?"

"He was killed by the Wraith, Colonel." John said, and then he amended that. "Actually, that's not true... he was being tortured by the Wraith, and I shot him."

"You shot..." She trailed off as the doctor returned with her Tylenol and another cup of water. Her head was pounding something awful.

_The Wraith do not exist_

What?

"What's a Wraith?" She asked, both Talon and the others, as she took the cup from Becker.

_They are a myth used to frighten small children. Much like your boogeyman_

"They're these nasty life sucking aliens..." Beckett said, softly. "They seem to feed through their hands, and they touch you and your-"

"The Wraith do not exist."

Everyone in the room stared at Mitchell, whose voice had suddenly gone very deep. Weir and McKay both had heard a Goa'uld speak before, so they weren't nearly as shocked as Beckett and Sheppard were to hear the normally soft voice go suddenly so different.

"What the...?"

Don't do that.

Talon hadn't even thought; he'd just taken over. Chagrined, and apologetic, he released his control of her, and Mitchell was the next one to speak.

"Sorry about that," she said, closing her eyes and rubbing her head. Having them saying one thing to her and having Talon saying the opposite thing was not easing her headache at all. "Talon seems to think the Wraith are a myth..."

"Well, he's wrong..."


	18. 18

_Author's Note: Remember; Melony thinks Beckett's name is Becker, so sometimes - when it's Melony's point of view, I'll be referring to him as Becker, and when it's everyone else, he'll be Beckett._

_OOOOOOOOOOOOO_

Mitchell took a moment to down several Tylenol. It wasn't like she was running the risk of an overdose, since Talon was there to make sure that didn't happen – and she had a feeling her head was going to be pounding more before the day was done.

_Ask them how they know –_

"You've _seen_ one of these Wraith things?" Mitchell asked before Talon could finish the statement.

All of the people in the room nodded.

"I watched it suck the life out of Colonel Sumner," Sheppard told her, softly. From the look on his face, it was obviously something he hadn't enjoyed. Mitchell could understand that.

_They're sure it wasn't something else, pretending to be a Wraith to frighten them?_

Good point.

"You're sure it wasn't something else, pretending to be a Wraith to frighten you?"

"It was a Wraith," Weir said. "We've come upon several other societies of people here, and they've all seen these Wraith – and all of their worlds have been plagued by them."

"Apparently the Wraith keep people much like we on Earth keep cattle – or goats," McKay said, finding his voice for the first time since he'd been chewed out. "They feed on a world until the population is low, then they move on. They hibernate for centuries at a time – presumably to give the populations a chance to grow in numbers – then they come back and feed again."

Mitchell couldn't help the face she made.

"What a grisly cycle..."

"Yes."

"So we're in the middle of one of the feeding cycles?"

Sheppard shook his head.

"We're at the _beginning_ of it."

She rubbed her head again, willing the aspirin to take affect, and felt Talon start to soothe the pain, despite his own aches and weariness. She gave him a nudge of thanks, and felt the headache lessen.

Are you satisfied that what they're dealing with truly are the Wraith things? Melony asked her symbiote.

_It does sound similar to what I have heard of them_

"What –"

"Colonel, you _really_ ought to get some rest," Beckett told her, cutting off her next question. "You've already had one nasty shock today, I don't like the thought of adding too much more to it..."

She shook her head. Now that the pounding was going away, she was feeling better, and despite the fact that Talon really could have used a rest, the symbiote was just as keen to get the answers as his host was.

"I'm fine, Doctor Becker, thank you," she told him, turning back to Sheppard and missing the amused look McKay gave the doctor when Mitchell got his name wrong. "Tell me about Colonel Sumner, Major. From the beginning..."

"We have mission reports of all the events of the past months," Weir told her before John could start talking. She really didn't want to hear this story again – she'd heard it so many times already that she occasionally would have a nightmare about it. "I'll bring you copies so you can see what's been happening..."

Mitchell nodded.

"Carson?" Weir asked, "How much longer will the Colonel here be in the infirmary?"

Beckett shrugged.

"It depends on her symbiote. When she feels like leaving, they can." Who was _he_ to say otherwise? He turned to Mitchell. "I'll want to do a check-up a little later, just to make sure the beam didn't cause any side affects we haven't found yet, if you don't mind?"

And miss the chance to hear him say something else in that accent? Not a chance.

Mitchell nodded.

"I can leave, now, then."

"You're sure?"

I can leave now, right?

_There's nothing wrong with you,_ Talon confirmed. _As long as you're not planning on going anywhere and doing anything strenuous, you can get out of bed, sure._

"I'm sure."

"We found some things that we were pretty sure were your personal things," Weir told her, as Mitchell made sure she was wearing clothing – bright red surgical scrubs – and tossed the blankets back. "We put them in quarters for you."

Between the rough welcome and the story of the Wraith, Mitchell had forgotten that she was actually standing in the lost city of Atlantis. She took a moment to look around the infirmary. Despite the fact that all of the machines looked nominally familiar, there was a definite alien quality to the room.

"Is there a _bed_ in my quarters?" She asked. "Or did the Ancients sleep on something else?" Like a bed of nails, or a pile of bubbles...

She felt Talon's amusement at the thought, and saw Weir smile as well.

"No, they had beds. We brought sheets and bedding, but they left us with a fair amount of furniture."

"We're still finding new things every day," McKay added.

"Really?" She'd have thought they'd have explored the place by then.

"Yes."

_It sounds as if they've run into problems of their own_

True.

"John? Why don't you take Colonel Mitchell to see her quarters, and I'll bring the mission reports there."

Sheppard looked at Mitchell, who shrugged.

"That's fine with me." She frowned. "I'm not going to get zapped the minute I enter another room, am I?"

McKay shook his head.

"The device has been deactivated."

"You're sure?"

"Of course."

"Positive?"

McKay made an annoyed noise in his throat, forgetting for a minute that he was in awe of her.

"Yes, Colonel Mitchell, I'm positive."

Satisfied, Mitchell reached down and touched the shirt she was wearing.

"I'm going to need some clothes."

_If I get zapped, I'm going to toss him out a window_

Melony hid her amusement at that, and watched as Becker shooed everyone out of the infirmary.

"I'll be right outside, Colonel," Sheppard told her as he headed for the door with Weir.

"I'd like a chance to speak with you fur-"

"Get out," Beckett interrupted, putting his hand on McKay's shoulder and giving him a slight push towards the door as well.

"I'm going, don't push..."


	19. 19

Once the infirmary was cleared, Beckett brought her over the uniform they'd stripped off her when bringing her into the infirmary and then closed the curtain to give her some privacy and went to collect her weapons, figuring they'd be a lot better off with her than hanging around in his infirmary.

"So you've seen these Wraith, Doctor Becker?" She asked him, as she emerged from behind the curtain, fully dressed except for her boots, which were on the bed. She saw the stack of weapons and headed for it, but her attention was still on the Doctor.

"Aye. Nasty buggers," he said. "And my name's not Becker, it's Beck_ett_."

"What do they – I'm missing a gun..." She said, distracted. She'd put Jack's Beretta in the holster at the small of her back, and had strapped on the zat holster, but the holster that carried her Beretta was empty.

"I believe the Major picked it up when you dropped it, Colonel."

She frowned at the thought of having dropped any weapon – especially her Beretta, which had been her brother's before it'd been her own.

_You had good reason to..._

Yeah, but still...

She attached the long sheath with the knife to the side of her belt, and then sat down to put her boots on.

"Where are you from, Doctor Becker?" She asked. "That's a Scottish accent? Or an _Irish_ one?"

"From Scotland," he told her, debating whether he should remind her what his name was once more. "And yourself?"

"Wisconsin." She told him, pulling her boot on. "I've done a lot of traveling, though, so I can't really call any one place home, I suppose."

She stood up, and picked up her P-90.

"Thanks for taking care of us, Doctor. We owe you."

Carson shrugged.

"It's my job, Colonel." He told her. "However, I was serious when I said you should have another check up later, just to make sure there's no ill-affects from the beam, and please come back if you're having any adverse reactions."

"I will."

She headed for the door, her empty holster slapping against her thigh.

OOOOOOOOO

Sheppard was leaning against the wall, waiting for her when she stepped out into the hall. He stood a bit straighter, and gave her a half-smile as he handed over her Beretta.

"You dropped this."

"Thanks." She took the gun, worked the action to make sure the chamber was cleared, and then holstered it. "I was looking for that."

"I figured you would be." He gestured towards the left. "Would you like the grand tour of the place before we get you settled?"

"No. I'd like to drop off some of this hardware, first, if you don't mind? Then you can give me the tour while you tell me about these Wraith, and what happened to Sumner."

"I don't mind at all." He started down the hall. "You're going to be in the room next to mine, for now, Colonel," John told her. "Unless that's a problem?"

"Do you snore?"

"I don't think so."

"I can't imagine you're having loud parties..."

Sheppard shook his head.

"Then that's fine."

"Doctor Weir is just down the hall, and several of the Athosians are in the same section."

"Athosians?"

"A group of people we met when we got here – while we were looking for a safe place to go in case the power died in the city and the shields gave out."

"They were living here when you got here?" She asked, curiously. "Are they Ancients?"

"No, Colonel. They were living on another planet – a Wraith planet. We found them, and brought them back here when we realized how much danger there was on their own."

Sheppard almost expected her to get on him about them bringing back some civilians to the city when they only had a limited amount of supplies, but she just nodded.

"You can't leave people to die..."

"Yeah."

"So, the Atho-"

"Major!"

They both turned at the call, and Aiden Ford came trotting up. His normally cheerful face lit up when he saw Mitchell, and much to Sheppard's surprise, her face lit up as well.

"Colonel Mitchell! I was hoping it was you!"

"Lieutenant Ford," Mitchell held her hand out to him, and he shook it warmly. "It's good to see you."

"You two know each other?" Sheppard asked, surprised.

"Colonel Mitchell and SG-2 were my training officers when I joined the SGC, Sir," Ford explained. "I haven't seen her in years, but you never forget a person who shoots you with a zat intentionally."

"It was an accident..."

"Uh huh..."

"Mind your manners, Lieutenant," she warned him, but the smile on her face told Sheppard and Ford that Mitchell wasn't really pulling rank this time.

"Aye, aye, Ma'am." Ford said, grinning. "What are you doing here, if I may ask?"

"I brought you supplies."

"Why didn't Major Anderson come?"

Grief welled up in Melony at the innocent question, and she felt her face tighten.

_Steady..._

Talon couldn't keep her emotions entirely in check without imposing his will – which he wasn't going to do – so the sudden pain in her expression was plain to see.

"He was... killed... a short while ago."

"Oh, God..." Aiden Ford hadn't really known Anderson that well, but he'd heard somewhere that when Mitchell went off to become a Tok'ra that she and the Major had become quite the item, so he knew that the loss was far more personal than just losing a subordinate on her former team. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Colonel. He was a good guy."

Mitchell nodded, unable to speak for a moment. Both men pretended to not notice.

"He was, Lieutenant..." she finally said, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "But... that's not here or there. Major Sheppard here was telling me about the Wraith – or he was going to – but I do want to talk to you later." About the Wraith, and to see how he'd been doing. She'd been pleasantly surprised to find someone she actually knew in the ranks. The only name she'd recognized was Colonel Sumner's. But, she hadn't went through the entire list, so maybe there were even more surprises to come.

"It'll be my pleasure, Colonel."

"Mine, too."

What's a zat?" Sheppard asked, curiously, as the two of them continued their walk. 


	20. 20

Mitchell handed Sheppard her zat.

"Don't shoot it at me." She warned him.

"What does it do?"

"It's kind of like a stun gun," Melony told him. "A really nasty one. At least the first shot is."

"First shot?"

"One shot will knock you – or pretty much anyone – on your ass, Major." She said. "If you shoot the same target again, it'll kill that target."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"I'll demonstrate later."

"Well, I really don't have enough personnel to be able to spare one..."

Mitchell smiled.

_You could use the Astrophysicist_

"I'll use it on something inanimate," she told Sheppard, while she silently chuckled at Talon's remark. "It has a couple other tricks you might find interesting. I wonder why you weren't issued them?"

Of course, Sumner had been in charge of the mission – militarily speaking – and he'd hated zats, so that might have been the reason. He'd always been more fond of using guns that he knew you could trust, and she had to admit he had a point there. You always knew when you were out of ammo with a machine gun, or a pistol... not so with a zat, which might misfire any minute –although it hadn't happened to Melony.

Sheppard shrugged.

"No clue. I wasn't really supposed to be a part of this thing, originally."

"Oh yeah?"

He nodded. "I was just General O'Neill's pilot when he went to visit the Antarctica base, and... well... it's a long story involving this weird drone thing and a chair... I'll tell it to you sometime. Here are your quarters."

He handed her back the zat, and gestured to a door.

"You run your hand along this sensor thing, like this..." he demonstrated, and the door swooshed open.

"Nice."

"Well, it's better than a doorknob, I guess."

_If I get zapped..._

He didn't. They walked into the room, which was fairly large, and held a bed, and a dresser-looking thing that was pressed against one wall. She wondered if it was originally intended as a dresser, or if the Ancients had used it for something else. She didn't even know if they wore clothes. Sitting on her bed was a large stack of boxes and her duffle bag. Her things.

Mitchell crossed the room and set her P-90 on the dresser, looking around curiously. For having been empty for millions of years, there was no dust, and no weird smell. That was a plus.

"There's a bathroom through that door," Sheppard told her, pointing. "Luckily, the Ancients seemed to have done everything pretty much the same way we do, so we didn't have to modify that to our own... needs. You'll find a shower in there, too, but no bathtub."

Mitchell crossed the room and opened the door, taking a quick look, then turned to him.

"How about a coffee pot?"

"There's a few in the big room we use as a commissary." He said. "One of the scientists could probably rig something up in here if you want-"

"I'll figure it out," she assured him. She definitely needed a cup of coffee, but there were a lot of other things that she needed, too. Like a tour of the place, and a summary of what had been happening there, so far. "Why don't we take that tour?"

He nodded, and the two of them stepped out the door.

"Colonel Mitchell, Major Sheppard..."

They turned and saw Weir coming down the hall, a stack of disks in her hand.

"These are copies of the reports we've made so far, Colonel Mitchell," Weir told her, handing the disks over. "We have them in hard copy, too, but the disks will be easier to read than my handwriting."

"Thank you, Doctor Weir," Mitchell took them. "I'll be right back." She told the two of them, and went back into her quarters to drop the disks off. No sense carrying them around, after all.

"How are you two getting along?" Weir asked Sheppard.

John shrugged.

"I like her."

"So quickly?"

"Why not?"

It was Weir's turn to shrug. Why not, indeed?

""So, have you briefed her-"

They were interrupted by the door opening again, and Mitchell's return.

"I was just asking Major Sheppard here if he'd managed to tell you about the Wraith, yet, Colonel Mitchell," Weir said. "Has he?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"He's going to do that while he gives me a tour of the place. Would you care to join us? I could use more than one person's perspective on things."

Weir nodded.

"I was going to suggest it myself, actually." She gestured towards the hallway that would take them to the control room. "Shall we?"

The three of them headed down the hall.

OOOOOOOO

It was impossible for Mitchell to hear the story of the Wraith and explore the strange new city at the same time, she discovered. Atlantis was a complex warren of hallways and rooms – small and large, some empty, and some filled with things she didn't even have a clue what they could be – and it was all far too new to her – and Talon – for her to be able to concentrate on what was being said. She ended up stopping in the middle of the hallway they were in, and asking the Major to tell her the story of the Wraith right there, where there was nothing to distract her.

She was glad she did, too, by the time he was finished with the bare bones of the tale. It wasn't a story to be told before bedtime, that was for certain, and it wasn't a nice story, but it was one she needed to hear and one that sickened even Talon, who shared his host's memories of Colonel Sumner and her anger that something so gruesome had chosen to torture him.

"He didn't tell them where Earth was?" She'd asked when Sheppard had come to that part of the story.

John shook his head.

"He told her to go to hell."

Melony nodded, wishing she could be alone for a while to mourn for her friend.

_They will pay_ Talon promised her, his very real fury burning inside her, countering her sorrow.

Mitchell closed her eyes, and Sheppard was worried for a moment that she was going to pass out or something. She'd suddenly turned rather pale.

"Colonel Mitchell?"

Obviously Weir had been worried about the same thing, because when she opened her eyes, both of them were looking at her, concern in their expressions.

"They'll pay..." She said softly, turning away from the two, and echoing Talon's promise to her. A promise he'd given another host several hundred years before, regarding a different injustice, and a different race of beings, and one that had been fulfilled ruthlessly only years before.

Weir looked over at Sheppard, who was watching Mitchell.

"They don't know where Earth is," he said. "The Atlantis Stargate is the only one in the system that will go to Earth, so they're not going to find-"

"How do you know that?" Melony asked, turning back to them.

"Because of the hologram," Weir told her. "We found a hologram the Ancients left, and it told us that this gate is the only one that will return to Earth."

"So they won't get to Earth without coming through us," Sheppard told Mitchell.


	21. 21

"Good." Mitchell had already decided that protecting Earth from the Wraith was far more important than getting the Atlantis team back home. For that matter, it was more important than anything else. "What message did you send back to Earth when I came through the gate?" She asked. "Did you tell them about the Wraith?"

Weir looked more than a little chagrined.

"We... didn't get a message off to them..."

"What?"

"We were so surprised by the beam that attacked you and your... um... Talon... that we didn't get a message off to them."

"You're kidding..."

Weir shook her head.

That means Jack doesn't know we made it...

_Sure he does_

How?

_Fuglier is still orbiting Earth, _Talon told her. _Since the ship is triggered to blow if you die, he'll know you're alive because there won't be an explosion_

What about the distance?

_It doesn't matter_

You're sure?

_Positive_

She sighed, but shrugged. No sense raking anyone over the coals about it.

"Sorry, Colonel, we were caught by surprise."

"It's no big deal, Doctor Weir. Better that you managed to disable the beam, anyways, as far as I'm concerned." She looked around the hall. "So the Wraith can't get to Earth unless we tell them how to get there, or let them through the gate – "

"Which won't happen," Sheppard said.

"Which won't happen," Mitchell agreed, nodding. She'd blow the Stargate, the city and everyone in it long before she allowed that to happen.

Sheppard told her the rest of the story of their initial meeting with the Wraith, and how he'd shot Sumner once he'd realized there would be no way to rescue the Colonel, and then how the Wraith had captured him, and his own subsequent rescue.

"Lieutenant Ford saved my life."

"He's a good man," Mitchell agreed.

"You know him?" Weir asked, surprised. She hadn't been there when Mitchell and Ford had met in the hallway, after all, so this was news to her.

"I was his training officer when he first came to the SGC," Mitchell said, explaining how all newcomers were subjected to a series of tests to see if they were compatible for off-world working conditions and to check temperament and how they'd deal with pressures, and how each SG team took turns being the instructors.

"Well, it must be a pleasant surprise to find someone you know here, then," Weir said. She realized belatedly that Mitchell had _expected_ to find someone she knew – Colonel Sumner – but the Colonel Mitchell didn't say that. She was a bit more diplomatic than that – at least she was now that her head wasn't pounding.

"It is," she agreed, smiling slightly. A smile that didn't reach her eyes, but this wasn't a big surprise to Weir or Sheppard. There had been a lot of bad news to hand out to the Colonel in the last hours, and only someone with serious problems would be able to smile after all that – not to mention being attacked by that beam only seconds after arrival.

"Well, why don't I give you that tour?" Sheppard suggested. "I can tell you more about what we've been doing while you take a look around, and maybe we can find you a cup of coffee?"

"That sounds like a plan."

"I'm going to leave you in the Major's capable hands, Colonel," Weir told her. "I have some things I need to take care of – unless you have any questions?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"I'm sure I'll have more later, but I'd like to get a look around, first, and think about what I've heard."

"Understandable. I'll be at your disposal, just come find me, or ask someone else to."

"Thank you, Doctor Weir."

The two officers watched as she left them, then Sheppard gestured towards the hall and the tour that had been interrupted by the report on the Wraith.

"Coffee first? Or the rest of the tour?"

"I can drink a cup of coffee while I'm touring," she told him.

OOOOOOOOO

"This is amazing..."

The two of them were standing at one of the many balconies that overlooked the water, and Mitchell was leaning way over, looking down at the water that was crashing against the base of the city.

"You should have been here when it was still underwater," Sheppard told her. "The view is a lot different from below."

"I bet."

She took a quarter from her pocket and dropped it, watching as it fell and counting softly to herself.

"We're at least three hundred feet up..."

Sheppard nodded.

"Good thing you're not afraid of heights..."

Good thing I'm not, either 

Mitchell smiled.

"Have you tested the water?" She asked. "Are there fish in there?"

"The scientists have made it so we're converting sea water for drinking and bathing and stuff," Sheppard told her. "I haven't found a fishing line long enough to fish from here, yet."

_I like him_

Mitchell found herself smiling again. Smiling wasn't something she'd been doing a lot of lately, but it felt good.

I do, too.

He had a good sense of humor, and as far as she could tell, he'd done a good job taking over for Marshal.

"We'll have to try it sometime..."

She drained her coffee cup, and sighed.

"I should probably go take a look at those mission reports, Major. I have a lot of catching up to do..."

He nodded.

"I'm going to get a bite to eat, and then I'll be in my quarters if you have anything you have a question about."

"Thank you." She turned and headed inside.

"Do you need me to walk you back to your rooms?"

She shook her head. Even if she hadn't been paying attention to where they'd been going, Talon had a fine sense of direction, so she was pretty sure between the two of them they'd get where they needed to go.

"You go eat," she said. "I'll be fine."

"Yes, Ma'am."

They separated, and Mitchell headed for her quarters.


	22. 22

She didn't make it to her quarters as quickly as she'd intended to. As she was turning a corner, she found herself crashing into a young boy who had been running headlong down the hallway and not paying attention to where he was going. Only her quick reflexes – borrowed from Talon – stopped them both from crashing to the floor. She reached one hand out to steady him, and one hand out to grab the wall to support both of them.

"I'm sorry!" Came the quick apology of a child who has been caught doing something he knows he shouldn't be doing. Then he looked at her, realizing he didn't recognize her, and straightened even further, unsure if he was about to be chewed out or not. The stranger was wearing a uniform like Major Sheppard and the others sometimes wore, and all sorts of guns were hanging at her sides, making her look quite intimidating. "Who are you?"

"I'm Colonel Melony Mitchell, of the Stargate Command," she told him, drawing herself up a little straighter as well. She looked down at him – although she wasn't all that much taller than he was – and gave him as stern a look as she could manage. "You're a bit young to be one of the scientists from the Atlantis team, and I know I don't have anyone that young on any of the military teams, so you must be one of the..."

_Athosians_ Talon supplied.

"Athosians..."

The boy nodded.

"I'm _Jinto_." He held out his hand, in the manner he'd seen Major Sheppard use as a greeting.

Mitchell took his hand and shook it, gracing the boy with a slight smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jinto."

"You're Colonel Melony Mitchell?" He asked her.

"I am."

"What's a Colonel? Is it a rank like Major?"

"Yup."

"Is it higher?"

"Yup."

"So you outrank Major Sheppard?"

"Yup."

"So are you going to be in charge, then?"

"The jury's still out on that one," she told him, finally able to use more than one word to answer one of his questions.

"What's a jury?"

"It's a group of people who decide the outcome of a trial."

"You brought a group of people with you?" Jinto asked. "Any young people? Are they all Colonels? Can – "

"I didn't bring anyone else, Jinto," Mitchell told him, ignoring Talon's amusement. If the symbiote could laugh aloud, his voice would be pealing through the halls. "It's an expression. It means I haven't decided yet..."

"You're _thinking_ about bringing a group of people –"

"No, boy, it means I haven't decided if I'm going to be in command here or not. It's still up in the air."

He looked up at the ceiling, and Mitchell couldn't help but smile.

"Not... _that's_ another expression, Jinto."

"Oh."

"How old are you?"

"11. How old are you?"

"33."

"Is that older than Major Sheppard?"

"I don't know."

"Is it older than Doctor Weir?"

"I'm not sure."

"Oh." He paused. "How about Doctor McKay?"

"No clue." She held up her hand before he could name someone else. "I'm still new here, you know? I haven't had a chance to find out much about the people who are staying here."

"You're from _Earth_, right?"

She nodded.

"Teyla said that someone came through and brought supplies, but she said that the person was hurt. You don't look hurt to me."

"I got better."

"What happened to you?"

"Where are you parents?"

"My mother's dead, but my father's around here somewhere."

"Do you run around the place unsupervised often?"

"I'm not supposed to be running..." he wasn't sure what the word 'unsupervised' meant, so he wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. Do you?"

"I had a brother. Does your father know where you are?"

"He's talking to Teyla right now."

"Where were you running to?"

"No place." He looked at the weapons in the holsters at her sides. "What's that?"

"It's a zat."

"Can I see it?"

"No. Can you help me with something, Jinto?"

"Sure, what?"

"I need to find Major Sheppard's quarters."

"_I_ know where they are. But Major Sheppard's not there. I was just there a little bit ago and –"

"I don't need to talk to Major Sheppard, I just need to find his quarters. Mine are next to his, and I'm not positive I can find them."

She knew exactly where she was, but she figured the sooner she got to her rooms, the sooner she could end the inquisition. It was enjoyable talking to children, but it'd been a while since she'd done it, and the constant questions were making her head pound again, and this time Talon wasn't helping.

"Sure!"

He took off down the hall at a run, and Mitchell sighed.

"Jinto..."

He came to a stop and looked over his shoulder.

"Maybe we could go a little slower?"

"Sorry."

She smiled to soften the rebuke, and he fell into step beside her, not noticing that she didn't seem to be lost at all.

"What things do you like?" Jinto asked her as they walked.

"What things?"

"You know... _things_..." Jinto said. "Major Sheppard says he likes... football and something called a ferris wheel. Lieutenant Ford likes boxing and crossword puzzles and football... what do you like?"

"Ah..." She shrugged. "I like classic cars, the Green Bay Packers, and coffee."

"What's a car?"

"It's a ground based vehicle that burns a combustion engine to propel..." Mitchell trailed off, thinking of a dozen questions that definition might spawn. "It's a thing that you drive."

"Oh." He paused. "What's a Green Bay?"

"It's a city. Where I'm from."

"Oh." Another pause. "Is it green there?"

Talon gave a mental snort of amusement, and Melony rubbed her forehead, glad to see that they were in the final corridor to her quarters.

"Sometimes. Mostly it just snows a lot."

"Oh."

He pointed to Sheppard's door. "_This_ one is Major Sheppard's."

"Then this one is mine," Mitchell said, pointing to hers. "I have some stuff to unpack, and some things to read, but it was really nice talking to you, Jinto."

He beamed with pleasure, even though it was obvious even to him that she was dismissing him.

"I'll see you again, won't I?" He asked.

"Most likely."

"It was nice talking to you, too," he told her. "I should go see if my father's done talking to Teyla yet."

"You do that." She wasn't sure who Teyla was, but she was more than willing to pawn the boy off on that person. At least for a while.

The boy took off – running, Mitchell noticed – and Melony sighed again, and palmed her door open. Maybe she'd take a quick nap before starting in on the reports. Talon was exhausted, and she was feeling a latent echo of that fatigue. Yeah. A nap was a great idea.


	23. 23

Before gating to Atlantis, she'd packed her things herself. It wasn't all that hard; most of what she needed had been on _Fuglier_ and it had been a simple matter to put it into a duffle bag and beam it down to the SGC. Everything else she'd needed, she'd robbed from supply with Jack's blessing. There were spare uniforms – and some of them were the gray Atlantis ones, since Jack had shown them to her and she rather liked the style, although gray wasn't really a color she was fond of wearing. There was a photo album that hurt way too much to open now, but she'd known if she didn't take it, she'd have been sorry. There were some civies – non-military clothing, like sweats and shorts and a couple sweatshirts. A bunch of odds and ends, and then there was her coffee.

An entire large box had been devoted to coffee grounds. Packs and packs of them, stacked tightly and pressed as closely together as they could be to ensure that she had enough to last her a good while. There was more – a lot more – in the stacks of supplies that had been slated for the Atlantis team, but this box had gone through the gate only seconds after Mitchell had – to make sure that if the gate had shut down prematurely, she'd still have her coffee while she tried to figure out how to get herself home. Since she'd been told that the supplies had all made it through, Mitchell didn't feel guilty at all about keeping this box to herself.

She set that box beside her dresser thing, and then pulled out the final prize. A battery operated coffee pot. She hadn't been sure how long it would take her and Talon to get power running – if there hadn't been anyone in Atlantis, she might not have had any power for days – and there was no way she was going to go that long without coffee. It wasn't a full-sized pot and maker, but it'd do for now. She set it on the dresser next to her P-90, and took the pot into the bathroom to get some water. Sheppard hadn't told them the water in the bathroom sink was safe for drinking, but she had Talon, so it didn't really matter. Besides, it'd get hot and probably could kill anything that was dangerous.

_You're awfully fond of using me to fix things for you_ he chided.

That's your job, right?

He mumbled something even she couldn't understand, and she grinned and started the coffee.

While it was brewing, Mitchell took the opportunity to strip off her weaponry. She hung the belts with their holsters from the post at the head of her bed, and pulled her boots off, and then headed into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Major..."

Sheppard looked up from his meal and saw Ford standing by him with a cup of coffee in his hand. He gestured for the younger man to sit down, and the Lieutenant did.

"Where's Colonel Mitchell?"

"In her quarters, looking through some of our mission reports."

"Ah." He'd been hoping to have a chance to chat with her. "I suppose she has a lot of catching up to do."

"Yeah."

Ford smiled, and took a sip of his coffee.

"It was a surprise to see her."

"Yeah? Not the off-world type?"

"Oh, no." Ford shook his head. 'She's hardly been on Earth the last few years, from what I've heard. She's been too busy taking care of the Goa'uld and-"

"Tell me more about these Goa'uld, Ford," Sheppard asked. "Doctor Weir says they're a parasite that takes over a human host and makes it do what it wants, but I don't see that in Colonel Mitchell..."

"She's not a _Goa'uld_, Sir. She's a Tok'ra – a good Goa'uld. They don't use their hosts – not like the Goa'uld do. The Tok'ra – from what I understand – don't like the Goa'uld any more than the rest of us do. _Did_. They're not a threat anymore."

"Because of Mitchell?"

Ford nodded, and proceeded to tell him a much longer version of the tale that Weir had tried to tell Sheppard. One that Ford knew better than Elizabeth had, because he'd been following Mitchell's exploits with her symbiote since he'd heard of it, and he'd had sources in the SGC – security forces and various medics – who had been able to give him the real story, and not the 'official' one.

When he was finished, Sheppard was suitably impressed. But still confused.

"So... she's like... the biggest of these system lords, then?"

"She's definitely the most powerful," Ford told him. "The power comes from the size of the territories and armies they have, and Colonel Mitchell and Talon control 99 percent of the Jaffa – and probably that much territory."

"These Jaffa are super soldiers?"

"More or less. They're mortal, but they're raised to be warriors, and it shows. Have you ever met General O'Neill's friend, Teal'c?"

"No, but I've seen him around. Once." There was no forgetting that big guy. If Mitchell was in control of a large army of soldiers like Teal'c, then she was definitely a force to reckon with, certainly. Which made it all the more weird that she'd leave all that.

"What do you suppose she came here for?" He asked, looking down at his empty cup. "She had everything back there. Why leave it and come someplace that you're not even sure there's going to be people...?"

Ford shrugged.

"You'll have to ask _her_, Sir."

He had his own suspicions, but he wasn't going to share them with Sheppard. That was Melony's business and not his. He had a feeling though, that it had something to do with Brad Anderson's death.

"Maybe I will..."

He sighed, and stood up.

"Thanks for the chat, Lieutenant. I'll be in my quarters if anyone needs me."

"Yes, Sir."

He stood up and headed for the door, and almost crashed into Rodney McKay.

"Sorry."

"Major, have you seen Colonel Mitchell?"

"Hmm... blonde? About this tall?" He held his hand just a little shy of his own height.

"Very funny..."

Sheppard grinned; _he_ thought it was funny.

"She was in her quarters last time I checked."

McKay started to turn around.

"She's looking through mission reports," Sheppard said. "You might want to leave her alone until she's done. She has enough to do right now without being pestered by you."

There was that word again. _Pester_. Rodney frowned.

"I'm not going to _pester_ her," he said. "I thought I'd just go offer her my... expertise..."

"I'm sure she knows how to read."

"There might be some things she has questions about. Scientific stuff. Stuff you wouldn't know anything about..."

"But there might be some ordinary people stuff in there, too," Sheppard said. "Regular people stuff. Normal stuff. Stuff you don't know anything about."

"Cute."

Sheppard smiled.

"Leave her alone, McKay. She'll come out and join us when she's ready to. Until then, give her a chance to acclimate herself to her surrounding, okay?"

He made an annoyed noise, but shrugged.

"Fine. I suppose if she has any questions, she could come find me..."

"I suppose she could," Sheppard told him, patting his shoulder as he walked past him. "I wouldn't hold my breath, if I were you."

"What?"

"Nothing..."


	24. 24

_Author's Note: So... since I don't know how "_the Storm'_ is going to end, and I'm not going to wait until then to finish this story, I'm going to have it so that everything that has happened in the first season up until that episode has happened to the people in Atlantis – just so you all know._

OOOOOOOOO

She didn't take a nap. Once she was showered and clean – and she'd stayed under the spray of hot water as long as she could, relaxing muscles she hadn't realized were so tense – Mitchell had poured herself a cup of freshly brewed coffee and had pulled out her laptop. Dressed warmly in a pair of black sweats and a Green Bay Packer sweatshirt, she took up the first disk on the pile that Weir had given her – labeled 'disk one' – and put it into the disk drive of the laptop and started reading about what had been going on around Atlantis since the team had arrived.

She wasn't the only one who was interested. Instead of resting, Talon was reading along with her, the two of them absorbing the information at a rapid pace – although there was a lot of it, and much of it would need to be clarified with extra information from the people involved.

_They've had hardships of their own, haven't they?_

"Yeah..."

Mitchell rubbed her eyes as she pulled the final disk out of the laptop. She'd saved all of them onto the hard drive, so she'd be able to give them back to Weir and still come back to the information if she needed it. Her memory was good – especially with Talon to help – but it never hurt to have a back up.

"What do you know about these Wraith?" She asked him, softly.

_A lot more now than I did, _he admitted_. I was told of them by my first host, who had heard of them from an ancient people – I don't know if they were your Ancients or if they were just an old race – but he hadn't believed what he'd been told, so I was swayed by that belief._

"You believe, now, though..."

_Of course. They must have a weakness, though. Everyone has a weakness. We just have to find it_

"This gene therapy thing that the Doctor came up with... you think we can use that so we can access the Ancient's technology?"

_One way to find out_

She nodded, and set her laptop aside, and headed for the door.

_You might want to change, Hot Shot_

She looked down at herself, and smiled. Yeah, she probably should. She turned and went for her duffle bag.

OOOOOOOOO

A short time later, dressed in one of her uniforms – not the gray Atlantean ones – and with the zat on one hip and her Beretta on the other, she headed for the infirmary, once more relying on Talon's excellent to get her there. The halls were empty, and she realized when she stopped at one of the huge windows that were all over the place that despite what her watch was telling her, it was nighttime. Of course, since her watch was set for SGC time, it didn't make sense that the two timeframes would match, so she'd probably have to figure that out, too. It brought up another question, though. Everyone was probably asleep, which meant she should be, too. Only she wasn't tired, and she really wanted to talk to Becker.

_His name's _Beckett_, and you know it_

She smiled. Yeah; she did know it, now, but she still thought of him as Becker. She wondered why he hadn't corrected her on it.

_He did, but you were too preoccupied looking for your gun_

Oh.

Ah well. If it annoyed him, she'd make an effort to call him by the correct name.

_He's probably sleeping_

We'll just sneak a peek into the infirmary. If he's not there, we'll go away until morning – whenever that is.

_Fine_

When she peeked into the infirmary a few minutes later it was, indeed, empty. Mitchell sighed.

"Can I help you, Colonel?"

She about jumped out of her skin, much to Talon's amusement, and turned to see that Becker was standing behind her, a slightly apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry I startled you. I was just going to go for a cup of coffee when I saw you coming, and thought you might be looking for me, so I came back."

"It's okay," she said, shrugging. "And I _was_ looking for you."

_I like his accent, too_

"What can I do for you?"

"Actually, Dr. Becker, I have a question or two about this gene therapy thing you've been working on."

"It works," he told her proudly, ignoring the mistake on his name once more. She couldn't deny that he had a right to be proud. From what she'd read, he had a lot to be proud of. Mitchell nodded.

"So I read in one of the reports." She replied. "I have a few questions, though."

"Shoot."

"Chances are, _I_ don't have this gene, right?"

"Aye, it's very rare."

"But you can inject it into me?"

"With a little help from a few anti-rejection drugs, I could," he said.

Mitchell shook her head.

"I wouldn't need any of that."

"But that's the only way it'll work, Colonel," he told her. "If you don't have the rejection medication, then it's just going to be attacked by your immune system."

"Talon can take care of all that, Doctor. And he seems to think that he can make it work faster than it worked on Doctor McKay when you did him."

Beckett shrugged. He hadn't actually considered the symbiote, but he supposed she was right.

"It probably could work, then," he agreed. "If your symbiote thinks he can do it, and you're wanting to try it, I'll be happy to do it for you."

She nodded.

"I'm going to need to be able to interface with the technology here, and in order to do that, we think that gene'll come in handy. Especially if I want to use those Puddle Jumpers. And I do."

"Well... it'll take a few hours to get a sample ready for injection, Colonel, but I'll get right on it, if you're-"

"Nah," she held up a hand. "I don't need it this minute, Doctor Becker. I can tell it's late, and everyone's probably in bed. I just didn't realize it until I got out and started looking around. It can wait until morning – or _later_ if you need me to."

"I'll do it first thing in the morning, then," he told her.

"Thank you, Doctor Becker."

"You're welcome." He hesitated. "You know, Colonel... you could call me _Carson_. That's my _given_ name." And maybe she could get that one right – although he didn't really mind her mangling his last name.

She smiled.

"Thank you, Carson. I'll see you in the morning."

He nodded.

"Good night, Colonel."

"_Melony_." She corrected.

His smile was surprised, and pleased.

"Melony."

She nodded, and turned back down the hall.


	25. 25

She didn't head right back to her quarters. There was no hurry for her to return to them – although if she'd been thinking she would have brought a cup of coffee along with her. She wasn't tired, and even though she had no intention of exploring Atlantis on her own in the dark, she had no real desire to go back to her room and sleep, either. She made her way back to the balcony that overlooked the water, and walked out to the edge, leaning against the safety rail, and looking down – even though it was too dark to see the water.

There was no moon – which didn't mean there wasn't a moon at all, although for all she knew there were four or five of them – and she stared off in the darkness, not really seeing anything, but listening to the waves crashing far below her.

Sumner was dead... She hadn't been expecting that scenario. She'd either expected them to all be gone – moved on to another place under the Colonel's careful guidance – or had expected them to be here, trying to find a way to contact Earth – again, under the watchful eye of the older Colonel. She'd never even thought that he'd fall.

_They'll pay_ Talon promised her, aware that she was beginning to brood, which was fine for a while, but the gloomy thoughts of death were bound to turn to other losses, and that could be bad if she were to dwell on it. Better to goad her sense of vengeance – which was just as strong in her as it was in the symbiote, and they both knew it.

It didn't work, though. Not this time. When she was with other people, discussing things she'd never heard of, or when she was alone and immersed in reports describing things she'd never heard of or seen it was easier to forget the hurt. When she was alone, though, and staring into the darkness, it all came back and the loss came crashing down on her like the waves on the city below.

_I'm sorry, Melony_

I know

She did know, too. Talon felt her pain. He cried with her. He mourned the loss of Brad – and now Marshal – just as keenly as she did, because the two of them were so closely joined there was no hiding that pain from him.

_He wouldn't want you to agonize like this_

I know

It didn't make it any easier, though.

She stood there for a long time, not talking, really, although they were in constant communication through shared feelings and thoughts, and listened to the night. It wasn't anything new to either of them – they'd spent lots of time in Fugly, and then Fuglier, doing the same thing – the only difference was that they were countless millions of miles from everything they'd ever known.

_And there's a new enemy to face_

Yes 

She decided that if she wanted to be fresh in the morning when everyone else was, she'd better get to bed. Brooding was one way to pass time, but it wasn't a good way to get rest. She turned and headed back into the hallway, but had only gone a few paces when she noticed that she had company.

"Are you supposed to be out of bed?" She asked the boy that she'd met earlier that day.

_Jinto_

I know

She wasn't _always_ bad with names.

The boy shook his head.

"I snuck out."

"You'd better head back and sneak back in before someone notices you're gone and comes looking."

"What were you thinking about, standing out there? Green bay?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"I was thinking about a... friend of mine."

"Oh."

They were both quiet, looking at each other in the middle of a deserted hallway in the middle of the night in the middle of an alien settlement, both of them in a place they'd never expected to be only months before.

"Jinto!"

The boy flinched, and turned at the sound of his name. Melony turned as well, and saw a tall man walking up to them, his stride purposeful and his face set in a stern scowl.

"That's my father."

She nodded. She'd pretty much guessed that on her own.

The Athosian stopped only a few paces from Mitchell and the boy.

"What have I told you about leaving our quarters in the dark?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, Father."

Mitchell noticed he didn't promise not to do it again.

The man turned to Melony, and gave her a slight bow.

"I am sorry if he has been bothering you."

"He hasn't," she said, shaking her head. "I'm Melony Mitchell."

"Halling." The man said, introducing himself with another bow. "I've heard all about you..." he looked pointedly at Jinto, who flushed slightly.

"He's good company," she said, figuring it wouldn't hurt to say, and it might keep the kid from too much trouble.

"He asks a million questions, and every question you answer only brings forth a dozen more."

She smiled, because that was exactly what she'd thought earlier that day when she'd met him.

"Young people are like that, I'm told."

"You have no children?"

"No."

"Would you like one? You can have _him_..."

Mitchell grinned, because it was obvious that no matter how stern the man was trying to be, it was obvious from the way his son was looking up at him that they loved each other.

"I probably couldn't keep up with him."

"True." Halling looked at Jinto. "Off to bed, boy. Now."

"But Father-"

"Now."

Grumbling, Jinto waved farewell to Melony and turned and headed back down the hall.

"I'm sorry if he bothered you," Halling repeated. "He's far too curious for his own good, and he doesn't always know when to be quiet."

"He's fine," she said, shrugging. "I like kids."

Halling nodded. She could tell he had questions of his own – she could see them lurking in his expression – but he was more reserved than Jinto, and wasn't going to ask. Normally Melony would have just said go ahead and ask, but she didn't feel like another question and answer session – it could wait until another time – so the two of them looked at each other in silence, much the same way she and Jinto had been when Halling had interrupted.

"I should go make sure he went to our room..."

She nodded.

"It was nice to meet you."

"I'll see you again, I'm sure."

"Yeah."

He gave her another of those slight bows, and turned and followed his son, leaving Mitchell standing in the hall.

_That was odd_

Yes.

Ah well... she shouldn't expect the Athosians to be normal. She didn't know what normal was for them. Maybe they all stared like that.

_Or maybe they just can't figure you out?_ Talon suggested.

Yeah, well, I can't figure me out, sometimes. Why should they be able to?

He gave a mental chuckle, and they headed off for bed, her gloomy mood somewhat abated by the interruptions.


	26. 26

"She has the strongest life force I have ever felt," Halling said, softly, to avoid being overheard by Jinto – who was pretending to be asleep but was trying to listen in on the conversation between his father and Teyla. "Even Jinto felt it, I am certain."

"I've only heard a few things of her," Teyla said, interested – as she had been when Halling had called her, asking her to come by his quarters. He would have gone to hers, but they were close to Sheppard's and Jinto had told them that Mitchell's rooms were right next to his and he didn't want the newcomer to overhear what he was saying any more than he wanted Jinto to. "I am certain I will have a chance to meet her, soon."

"Jinto could introduce you to her. She doesn't seem to mind him."

"Then she is patient, indeed," Teyla said with a smile.

"You must warn her, Teyla. If she's going to be around here, then she needs to know the danger she's in."

"I'll tell her, Halling." The Athosian promised.

The older man nodded, and Teyla decided that he'd told her what he'd asked her to come hear.

"I'm off to find my bed, dear friend. If I cannot meet this... Colonel... in the morning, I will come seek out Jinto to introduce me to her in the afternoon."

"I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding him..." Halling drawled as he walked her to the door. "Just look for trouble; he's sure to be in the middle of it."

She smiled, and told him goodnight, and left.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Good morning, Colonel."

Mitchell had barely left her quarters when she was intercepted by Sheppard, who had been lounging outside his quarters – and presumably her own – waiting for her.

"Good morning, Major."

"How was your first night's sleep in Atlantis?"

"Not bad."

It hadn't been, either. Once she'd managed to fall asleep, it had been dreamless and refreshing. She'd woken, taken yet another long, hot shower, and had felt more than ready to face what was probably going to be a long day.

"I thought I'd see if you wanted to come have breakfast with me?"

"I would – but I need to go find Doctor Becker, first."

"Oh? You feeling okay?"

She nodded.

"He's going to inject me with that gene therapy thing that he gave Dr. McKay."

"Did I hear someone say my name?"

They both looked over and saw Rodney McKay walking towards them.

"Colonel Mitchell," Sheppard said, gesturing to Rodney. "You remember Doctor McKay, right?"

She nodded, both in response to his question and in greeting.

"Of course. Good morning, Doctor McKay."

"Good morning, Colonel Mitchell."

"We were just going to head for the infirmary," Sheppard said.

"Oh? Are you feeling all right, Colonel Mitchell?"

"I'm fine."

"Talon?"

"He's fine, too."

"I've really heard a lot about you and Talon, Colonel," McKay said. "I'd love a chance to sit and discuss your exploits sometime."

Mitchell nodded. She was used to people wanting to sit and discuss her exploits – usually they were doctors who were curious about the Tok'ra and had a handy way in Mitchell to find out more about Talon without worrying about offending some alien.

"I'm more than willing, Doctor," she said agreeably. "But not at this moment, I'm afraid. There's still a lot I have to do, and a couple of things I need to figure out –"

"I could help you."

"You're welcomed to come along." He was right, after all; he might be able to help her with logistics she didn't understand yet. He was – apparently – the smartest guy in the city.

He fell into step next to her, and the three of them headed for the infirmary, where Carson Beckett was already at work, despite the fact that his infirmary held no patients, and it was pretty early, still. The Scot smiled when he looked up and saw them all walking in, and gestured with his bearded chin for them to head over to the examination area and to stay clear of his workstation.

"Good morning, Melony," he said, sparing her another glance before turning back to what he'd been doing.

McKay's eyebrows rose in surprise at the warm familiarity of that greeting, and rose even more when Mitchell responded with a smile of her own.

"Good morning, Carson. You're up and at them already?"

"Aye. The early bird gets the worm and all that, you know." He nodded a good morning to Sheppard and McKay. "I'm almost finished."

"Finished doing what?" McKay asked.

"He's getting that gene ready." She said, explainging that she was going to be injected with the Ancient's gene.

"Already? Don't you have to have _other_ injections, first? Anti-rejection drugs? Things like that?"

"_Melony_ won't need them, we think," Beckett said. "With her symbiote able to control what reaction her body has, she should be able to take a direct injection."

"How long will it take?" Sheppard asked. He'd never needed the gene injection and was glad for that. He hated needles.

Beckett shrugged.

"No clue."

"I have plenty I can do while I'm waiting for it to work," Melony told him. She wasn't worried. Talon would make sure it didn't take any longer than necessary.

"Like breakfast." Rodney said.

"Like talking over my next step," she corrected, hopping up on one of the exam tables.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.

"I've got a couple things I need to discuss with you, Major – and with Doctor Weir – but I'd prefer to talk to you both at the same time."

"Would you like me to go find her?" McKay asked. Not that he was used to being the gofer guy, but he was curious what she had on her mind, and was impatient to hear it.

"Nah. She's probably just getting breakfast herself, and I don't want to rush Carson."

"It's no rush," Beckett said, coming over with a syringe in his hand. "I'm ready when you are."

Melony eyed the needle with the usual distaste she had for such things.

_Baby. It's not like you won't heal almost immediately, and it's only a tiny sting_

It still hurts.

"Please tell me that goes in my arm...?"

Sheppard grinned; he'd been hoping the same thing.

"In your shoulder," Beckett confirmed, smiling as well.

"Good."

She pulled off her BDU jacket, and rolled up the short sleeve of her t-shirt, revealing a well-muscled shoulder.

"It shouldn't hurt." Beckett assured her.

"I'm not worried."

_Liar_

She told him to hush, and turned her attention to Sheppard to keep from watching the injection.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Powdered eggs and toast."

"My favorite."

A quick prick, and she looked back in time to see Beckett drawing the needle out.

"There."

He swabbed the spot, and put on a band-aid in case there was any bleeding, then smiled.

"That's it?"

"That's all I can do. The rest is up to Talon."

Talon?

_Give me a bit to see what it is and where to put it_

"Then let's get some breakfast while he figures it out." She said, putting her jacket back on. Hopefully they'd run into Doctor Weir there, and they could kill two birds with one stone. "Would you care to join us, Carson?"

"I would, but I've got to finish up things here." He looked pleased by the invitation, however. "I'll try to catch up with you later."

She nodded, and stood up, and they all left the infirmary to find some breakfast.


	27. 27

"So, what do you do for fun?" Sheppard asked as they walked down the hall towards the impromptu commissary.

She shrugged. She hadn't actually had a lot of free time to just goof off, and she hadn't really felt like doing anything just for fun recently. He didn't need to know that, though.

"I watch football, fish, and play golf."

"College football?"

"Not unless there's a reason. I'm more into the pro games."

Sheppard made a face.

"I'm a college guy myself – or a really good pro game – you know, Cowboys against the Redskins, Packers against the Steelers, all the good rivalries."

"Those are the best." She agreed.

"Where are you from?"

"Green Bay."

"Packer fan?"

"Is there anyone in Green Bay who isn't?"

He smiled.

"Hockey fan?"

"Only when I'm being forced." Jack had forced her to sit through more than one game – and before that, Michael had as well.

"McKay here is Canadian."

Mitchell turned to the other man.

"Are you a hockey fan, then?"

It was Rodney's turn to make a face.

"Only when I'm being forced."

Melony smiled.

"Here we are..." Sheppard stood aside so she could enter the room first, and Melony saw that they weren't the only people who were heading for breakfast at that time. The small room held two long tables with benches – sort of like long picnic tables – and there was a scattering of personnel and Athosians at both of them, although there was plenty of room left over. The smell of bacon permeated the room, and Mitchell breathed it in deeply. She was hungry.

_You might not want to eat too much_

What? Why not?

_Because I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing, and it might make you queasy_

But I'm hungry

_You choose, but if you ralf all over everyone, I'm not going to let you forget that I told you so..._

Mitchell sighed. So much for breakfast.

_Have some coffee, you'll live_

Yeah, she'd live. But it wouldn't be-

"There's Dr. Weir."

Mitchell looked over where Sheppard was gesturing, and then looked over at the coffee pots that were set up on a counter with a stack of clean mugs.

"I'll meet you over there in a minute," she told him. The major nodded and he and McKay headed for the food serving area, while Mitchell went and poured herself a cup of coffee, took an appreciative sip and walked over to stand across from Weir.

"May I join you?"

Since she'd been watching Melony since she'd entered the room with Sheppard and McKay, Weir certainly wasn't startled by her. She smiled and gestured to the bench across from her.

"Please."

Mitchell sat down, and Weir introduced the woman she was sitting next to.

"Colonel Melony Mitchell, this is Teyla. She's one of the Athosians."

"Teyla." Mitchell gave her a slight nod in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I am pleased to meet you as well, Colonel Mitchell."

Teyla understood immediately what Halling had meant the night before the moment Colonel Mitchell walked into the room. Where the other humans glowed with life force – everything alive glowed with some small amount of life force – this human radiated it. At least twice as brightly as Doctor Weir did. She'd never seen anything like it.

Mitchell was aware of the frank stare immediately, and she took another sip of her coffee, wondering what it was about her that these Athosians found so interesting.

_Maybe it's your sunny personality?_

She gave a purely mental snort.

Aren't you supposed to be working on that gene thing?

_Slave driver_

"How are you settling in, Colonel?" Weir asked, unaware of Teyla's scrutiny.

"So far, so good," she answered. "I've read the mission reports, and I just had Doctor Beckett give me that Ancient's gene, so I should be able to interface with the technology around here as soon as Talon figures it out."

"You had him inject you with the gene?" Weir asked.

"Don't worry Elizabeth," Rodney said as he came over and sat down beside Mitchell, carrying a plate filled with bacon and scrambled eggs. "With her symbiote, she doesn't need all the anti-rejection drugs that everyone else needed."

"What's a symbiote?" Teyla asked, curiously.

"It's the Tok'ra that Colonel Mitchell has inside her," McKay explained as Sheppard came over and joined them as well, sitting on Melony's other side. "It and Colonel Mitchell have a symbiotic relationship – she lets it live in her and uses her senses and she carries it around, and in return she gets a long life with perfect health."

"You have a creature living inside you?" Teyla asked.

Mitchell nodded.

"Then that would explain why your life force is so much different from those around you."

"My what?"

"Some of my people have the ability to sense the life forces of those around them," Teyla explained. "Everyone has one, but yours is especially strong. Now I understand why. There are two of you."

"Ah."

"Teyla can sense the Wraith," Sheppard said, realizing that Mitchell might be a little skeptical about the whole life force thing, and wanting to add a little credibility to the statement.

"You can?"

She nodded.

"Not many of my people can, however."

"None of us can," Sheppard said. "Apparently it's not a trick we can learn, either."

"You must be especially wary, Colonel Mitchell," Teyla said, remembering that she'd promised Halling she would warn the newcomer. "With a life force such as yours, the Wraith will be drawn to you more than the others."

"Yes," Rodney said, taking a bite of his breakfast. "With your symbiote and the extra years it gives you, I imagine you'd look like some kind of smorgasbord to them."

"Well... that's appealing..." Sheppard said, sarcastically.

"No, it's _perfect_," Mitchell disagreed.

"How so?" Weir asked, confused.

"Because as soon as I get this gene thing working so I can learn to fly one of the Puddle Jumper ships, I'm going to go Wraith hunting. It'll be that much easier if they'll come to me."


	28. 28

"Wraith hunting?" Sheppard repeated, certain he had to have heard her wrong.

Mitchell nodded.

"What on earth are you saying?" Weir asked, her expression just as shocked as the others' were.

"I need a chance to study them," Melony said, shrugging, although she was well aware that she'd just dropped a bomb on them all. They were certainly looking shell-shocked.

"We _had_ one," Sheppard said. "You have all the information we-"

"I need to see one up close and personal," Mitchell said, interrupting him. "I have technology that you don't have access to, so you don't know how it works against them, and I need to see that for myself."

"The Wraith are dangerous," Teyla said, shaking her head. No one went looking for them on purpose! This human was either incredibly foolish, or foolishly brave. Neither was going to help her against the Wraith if she went looking for them. "You should not seek them out."

"It's crazy," McKay agreed. "They're like nothing you've ever seen, Colonel Mitchell..."

"Which is why I need to see them," she told them, reasonably.

"_They_ _suck the life out of you_," Rodney reminded her. "I can't imagine it's all that pleasant, Colonel Mitchell. You're nuts."

"They have to touch me to do it, though, right?"

Teyla nodded.

"I can keep them from touching me – probably."

"_Probably_?" Weir repeated. "You'd risk your life on a maybe?"

"It's the only way I'm going to find out." Besides, she'd risked her life on a lot less than a maybe more than once.

"And if you're wrong, you're going to be killed," Sheppard said. "That's quite a gamble, don't you think?"

She nodded.

"A necessary one, though."

"I disagree," Weir said. "You can't do this."

"With all due respect, Doctor Weir," Mitchell said, shrugging. "You can't stop me."

"This is my expedition."

"And I'm not under your command. You don't control the Military personnel here."

"If I declared an emergency, I would have control of them."

"Are you declaring an emergency?" She asked.

"I could."

"I'm not in the chain of command here, Doctor. I wouldn't be included in the personnel under your control unless I placed myself there. And I won't."

"Are you trying to kill yourself?" Teyla asked, interrupting before the two strong-willed women could really start arguing about something so stupid. Why would anyone seek out the Wraith?

"Of course not. But I need intel, and this is the best way to get it."

"There has to be a better way," Sheppard said.

"The best way to know an enemy is to meet it, Major. You know that." The implication was that he definitely _should_ know it, whether he did or not. "You had your chance to see them up close and personal with that prisoner you held, and I need to see them, too."

Sheppard knew she was right, but he didn't see how she was going to keep the Wraith from killing her the minute they spotted her – which according to Teyla, they were going to do immediately.

"They're not going to stand there and let you study them, Colonel." McKay told her, frustrated because she obviously couldn't see how dangerous her dumb idea was. "Even with whatever Goa'uld technology you brought, you're not going to be able to withstand an attack by them. You're risking your life needlessly."

How long do you think this gene thing will take? She asked Talon.

_A couple of days, at least_

That long?

_I'm not fixing a paper cut, hot-shot. Give me a little while. Genes are complicated_

"Not needlessly," she corrected, more than capable of handling a conversation with Talon and the other conversations as well. "Besides, you don't know that the Goa'uld technology won't work. The Goa'uld have never met the Wraith as near as I can tell, so we don't know that they have defenses against them. Do we?"

She was looking directly at McKay, who had to admit that she was right.

"I haven't observed them using any type of Goa'uld technology, no..."

She looked at Weir, but Elizabeth shrugged; she hadn't seen anything, either, and when Mitchell turned to Sheppard, John shrugged.

"I wouldn't know Goa'uld technology from Wraith technology," he admitted. "I'd like to see some of the gadgets you've brought, though. It'd make me feel a little better about your chances."

"It looks like it's going to take a couple days for Talon to get the gene thing working, so there'll be plenty of time for you have a demonstration," Mitchell said. "And in return, you can take me for a couple rides in the Puddle Jumpers, so I can start getting a feel for them – even if I can't actually fly them yet."

"Have you ever flown anything before?"

Mitchell nodded.

"If it has wings, I can fly it."

"Puddle Jumpers don't have wings," McKay told her.

"Then it should be even easier, eh?"

Sheppard smiled.

"They're fairly easy to fly, Colonel. _McKay_ can do it, after all, and I doubt he can drive a car."

Despite the general aura of concern at the table, everyone smiled at that – even though Teyla wasn't positive what a car was.

"I'd like to see some of the gadgets you've brought, also, Colonel Mitchell," Weir said. "I've never had a chance to see that sort of technology up close, and if you're really that determined to do this, I'd feel a little better knowing what you're going to be depending on to keep you safe."

Mitchell nodded and took a sip of her coffee. "I'll give a demonstration of a few things after you've all finished eating."

"You're not eating?" Weir asked.

"Can't. Talon says what he's doing could make me queasy, so it's better that I don't. I'll stick with coffee until he tells me otherwise."

"This creature communicates with you?" Teyla asked, curiously.

"Of course."

"It must be very strange..."

Mitchell shrugged.

"He's good company."

_Thank you_

Yeah, don't let it go to your head, she told him, hiding a smile in another sip of coffee.


	29. 29

She only made it through a partial demonstration of the zat before the nausea that Talon had warned her she might feel started creeping up on her. She tried to ignore it, knowing that there wasn't all that much she could do about it – since Talon was causing it, he'd already told her he couldn't fix it – and she was enjoying watching Sheppard's reaction to the zat, which was a formidable weapon in the right hands.

She might have been ignoring it, but she was doing a lousy job of hiding it, she soon discovered. McKay spoke up.

"Colonel Mitchell? Are you feeling all right?" He asked, right after she hit an empty box with the third shot of a zat, making it vanish. "You're looking a little pale..."

"It's the gene therapy Talon' working on," she explained, shrugging. "It's nothing."

"You look a little _green_ to me," Sheppard said, taking a close look at her face, worry evident in his eyes.

Since she _felt_ green, there was no reason for her to deny it.

"Why don't we cut this demonstration short?" Weir asked, taking a look at Melony's face, too. She thought she looked a bit more pale than green, but she wasn't going to quibble. "Maybe you should go lie down?"

Melony was going to argue. She could have told them she felt fine, and was more than capable of ignoring the discomfort and finishing the demonstration, but there really wasn't a reason to. She felt like crap. The demonstration could wait. She nodded.

"I think I will," she told them, holstering the zat. "I'll finish this later..."

"There's no rush." Weir assured her.

Mitchell nodded.

"I'll be in my quarters if you need me." She couldn't imagine why they would, though. Which was one of the benefits of being the new guy around the base.

_Slacker_

Hey, it's _your_ fault I feel like shit.

_I did warn you_

And I'm glad you did.

Otherwise she'd have eaten a huge breakfast and there was no way she would have been able to hold it down. Not the way her stomach was clenching just then.

"I'll walk with you, if you don't mind?" McKay asked.

"Sure." As long as he wasn't expecting her to have a lengthy conversation on the way. Nodding to the others, and giving Lieutenant Ford a slap on the back – Ford had joined them for the demonstration, and even though his expression when he'd heard what Mitchell was planning was just as concerned and shocked as the others' had been, he hadn't tried to talk her out of it – she and McKay left the room and headed towards her quarters.

"When you read the mission reports, did you happen to see the one about the personal shield devices that we discovered?" Rodney asked her.

"The one that you think about and it falls off?"

"That's the one."

She nodded.

"It looks fairly interesting – which is one of the reasons I was in such a hurry to get the Ancient's gene. I want to try it out."

"On the Wraith?" McKay asked. "I was going to suggest you take one along. It might be the protection you need."

"I'll try the other things, first," Mitchell said. "But I do want to take it, and I'll need you to explain exactly how it works."

"Oh, that's no problem," he assured her. "You see, the thing is actually-"

"Not right now, Doctor..." she said, holding up her hand. "I'm not sure I'd remember the explanation if I heard it, as lousy as I feel. Just tell me later, once I have the ability to wear it."

Rodney nodded.

"It can wait."

"It's a good suggestion, though." She said. "Thanks."

He beamed, and the rest of the walk to her rooms was made in a companionable silence.

"Do you need anything?" He asked as they stopped outside her door.

"I don't think there's anything that will help," she said ruefully. "I'll probably just have to tough it out. Thanks, though."

"I'll round you up one of those shield devices, and have it ready for testing when you're ready," he promised as she palmed open the door.

Mitchell nodded.

"Thanks."

Then she went into her room, intent on nothing more than sprawling on her bed and riding out the waves of nausea. She pulled her holsters off, hanging them on the bedpost once more, and shucked out of her boots, but that was as far as she managed. Cuddling up to her pillow and feeling about as miserable as she could feel, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore how bad she felt. Eventually she drifted off.

OOOOOOOO

Gentle fingers brushing against her temple woke her from her restless slumber. Surprised, but feeling to awful to do more than wonder what and who it was, she opened her eyes, and once more found herself looking into Carson Beckett's gentle hazel gaze. He smiled slightly when she woke, but he could see in her expression that Dr. Weir hadn't been exaggerating when she'd said Colonel Mitchell had looked pretty sick. She looked awful. Couple with that the way she was holding her pillow – a definite sign of misery – and Carson felt himself go gooey inside. Poor thing.

"Doctor Weir told me you weren't feeling well," Beckett explained. "I thought I'd come make sure it wasn't anything serious."

"It's just Talon," Melony told him in a whisper. "He warned me it would happen, but he didn't tell me I'd feel so awful."

_Sorry_

I'll live... right?

There was tender amusement.

_Yes_

"Is there anything I can get you?" Beckett asked. "There are several medications for nausea that might do some good..."

Mitchell shook her head.

"I just need to be still..."

His fingers brushed her pale hair back from her forehead, and once more began caressing her temple. When he'd done that after she'd woken after the beam had attacked Talon, it had hurt. Now, though, it felt soothing, and she hoped he wasn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"Do you need me to leave you alone?" He asked. "I didn't mean to wake you, I just wanted to check-"

"No... I could use some company," Melony told him, closing her eyes again. "If you don't have anything pressing to do." Besides, she was pretty much addicted to that soothing brogue of his.

Beckett smiled.

"I think I can clear my schedule."

He didn't _have_ a schedule. Unless someone managed to hurt themselves – which wasn't impossible – he'd be free to hang out with her as long as she could put up with him. He settled her a little more comfortably, pulling her blankets out from under her and then covering her warmly with them, and touched her cheek, looking for a fever.

"Did he say how long you're going to feel like this?"

Talon?

_It'll be a while, Melony. I'm sorry_. He was changing her in a very complex manner, after all, and her body wasn't enjoying the change, although it wasn't fighting it thanks to him.

"It'll be a while." She repeated, sighing. Then, before he could ask her another question – she really didn't feel like talking – she changed the subject.

"Tell me about yourself, Carson," she suggested, her eyes still closed.

"Sure." Running his fingers along her temple absently, Beckett started telling her about where he was from and a little about his education and family. Mitchell listened for a while, caught up in his soft voice, and then drifted off once more as he was telling her about the college he went to.


	30. 30

When she woke next, he was still with her, although now he was just seated on the edge of her bed, sipping a cup of hot coffee. He smiled when he saw her eyes open, and set his cup down before reaching over and touching her cheek – she still wasn't showing signs of a fever, which was the first indication of rejection of the Ancient's gene.

"How do you feel?"

She blinked sleepily, and his smile broadened. Obviously she wasn't one of those people who opened their eyes and were awake immediately.

"What?"

_He asked you how you feel_

"Oh... I'm..." She hesitated, taking stock in how she felt.

_You're better_, Talon prompted, amused and not bothering to hide it.

"I'm better..."

"Do you still feel sick?" Beckett asked. She didn't look quite so miserable, but since she'd just woken up, it wasn't saying much.

"A little. Not as bad, though."

"Think you could eat something?"

Ugh.

"No." She noticed that he'd made his coffee in her battery-powered coffee maker. "Is there more coffee? I'd have a cup if-"

"Sure."

He handed her his cup, and then stood up.

"You start on that one, I'll bring you your own."

Melony took a sip – she was never one to be shy about stealing someone else's coffee, after all – and was relieved to find that he drank his black. She hadn't seen sign of cream, but sugar was the worst thing that could happen to coffee as far as she was concerned, and that you wouldn't spot until you'd actually tasted it.

"I hope you don't mind that I made some," Carson asked as he poured her a cup.

"Not at all."

"Black?" He didn't see any cream or sugar – and hadn't seen any earlier, either.

"Yes."

He came back over to her bed, and traded cups with her and Melony took a long sip before setting it down on the stand by her bed, and lying back against her pillow.

"So, is it impertinent of me to ask about the progress your symbiote is making with the Ancient's gene?" Beckett asked.

"Not at all."

How's it going?

_I shouldn't be too much longer. The sequencing isn't as difficult as it should be – he really did a good job with this thing – but then it'll take a bit for your body to become accustomed to the changes, so we're looking at another 24 hours, maybe a little less_

"He says another 24 hours or so."

"Really? That's much faster than it was with McKay."

"Well, I do have certain advantages..." She said with a slight smile.

"True."

Beckett sat back down on the edge of her bed – there wasn't a chair to sit on, after all, but the bed was big enough that the position wasn't intimate – and took a sip of his coffee.

"How long have you had him?"

"Talon?"

"Aye."

"About three years. I got into a bit of trouble on a mission and ended up with some alien poisoned dart stuck in my arm."

"Poisoned?"

She nodded, and started telling him the story of how she and Talon met. She didn't really remember all of it, but she'd heard about the rush to get her back to the gate, and Talon himself had told her about the blending part, so she knew the whole story even though she'd been delirious during some of it.

It was harder than she'd expected, though. Talking about SG-2 meant talking about a group of people she'd loved – including Brad, who she'd loved more than life itself – and they were all dead, now. While she had no trouble getting through the part where they'd been stranded on the alien planet for a month, working their way back to the Stargate with wounded, she found herself unable to speak more than once when she started on the story of the trip back to the planet to find the pyramids that they'd discovered.

"It's okay, Melony," Beckett had said the first time she'd stopped speaking, trying to swallow the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. Obviously, it had been a terrible ordeal for her, and one she'd probably hoped to forget. "I didn't mean to bring up-"

She'd shaken her head, interrupting him, and had continued the story, her voice choked with loss and agony and her eyes filled with the hurt that had been lurking behind her expression since she'd first heard of the accident that had taken her beloved away. But she finished the first story, and had told him about the blending, and had even managed to smile slightly when telling Beckett about the hangover she'd shared with Talon the day after the going away party they'd thrown for her.

"So you didn't stay with the SGC, then?" he asked her. "You went to live with the Tok'ra?"

Mitchell shook her head.

"Not at all. We had other things to do, and we spent the next six months or so working on them, preparing technology and using the crystals we found in the pyramid to increase the power output in some of the device Talon had been working on with his last host..."

She went on to tell him the story of the defeat of the system lords, and although the way she told it seriously down-played just how dangerous it had been, Beckett had heard a little of _that_ story, and knew that she'd almost been killed, and had done far more than she was letting on. It wasn't every day that a human took out an entire race of evil creatures, after all, and it was one of the rare stories when the truth was just as good as any fiction could be.

He listened intently, fairly certain that she was telling him a story she didn't tell all that often.

"And the Jaffa?" he asked, once she brought them up. "What did you do with them once you'd taken them away from their masters?"

"Put them under the command of my First Prime and allowed them the chance to live how they should be," she said, explaining what she'd done once the Goa'uld had been defeated.

"You're an amazing person," Beckett said, softly, once she'd finished her tale.

Melony flushed, and looked down at her now empty coffee cup.

"I just got lucky a few times."

"And this Major of yours?" Carson asked. "Why didn't he come with you when you came here?"

Immediately he wished he could take the question back. She grew still, and even though her head had been bowed over her coffee cup, he saw a tear fall and land on her hand.

"He was killed in an accident... a little while ago..."

"I'm so sorry." He reached his hand out and touched hers, and more tears followed the first.

"Me too..." she whispered, brokenly. "I didn't think anything could ever hurt this much..."

Taking a great risk – especially for him – Carson pulled her gently into his arms. His stupid questions were the reason she was remembering just how badly she hurt, and he was determined to do what he could to comfort her.

Melony almost pulled away – she wasn't going to go bawling all over him just because he'd asked a couple of innocent questions, after all – but the promise of comfort was more than she could resist at that moment, and she found her forehead resting against his chest as she started to silently sob, once more lost in the hurt of loss – a loss that she suddenly realized she wasn't going to be able to run away from, no matter how far she traveled.


	31. 31

When she woke up, Melony was confused – even for her.

_You fell asleep_, Talon told her, gently, sharing a reminder of her conversation with Beckett. She had fallen asleep still sobbing in his arms. She gave a purely mental groan.

God, what's he going to think of me?

_Probably he'll think that you're a sensitive person who's lost someone you love and needed a shoulder to cry on. Which he provided._

Yeah, that he had.

_He still is_

What?

She opened her eyes and found that Talon was right. What she had assumed was her pillow – mainly because she hadn't really taken in her surroundings while she'd been waking up – was actually the front of his shoulder, where her cheek was still resting as he held her. Now that she was a little more awake, she could feel his arms still around her, holding her loosely, but definitely there.

How long have I been asleep?

_Quite a while_

Gah, he had to be so uncomfortable! She moved slightly, letting him know she was awake, and felt him shift against her as she moved her cheek from his shoulder to look up at him.

"You're awake..." he said, brushing his hand against her hair. "Good."

"I'm sorry-"She started to apologize, both for bawling on his shoulder, and then for falling asleep on him like that and pretty much forcing him to stay with her.

"Don't be," he said, giving her a smile that was obviously supposed to be comforting – and it was. "You've had a rough go of things lately, and it's just catching up with you."

She knew he wasn't just talking about the beam that had attacked Talon – and her. Mitchell nodded, and Beckett hugged her close for another moment.

"How do you feel?"

He was always asking her that.

_He's a doctor, that's what they do_

Good point.

"Tired, moody and hungry," Melony told him.

"I expect all of those," he told her, pulling away just enough so he could make eye contact with her. "Can you eat something?"

Talon?

_Sure. The worst of it should be over_

Mitchell nodded.

"Good. I'm going to go get you something to eat. You take it easy-"

"You don't have to..."

"Of course I do," he said with a smile. "I'm a doctor, right?"

"Yes."

"See?"

She smiled, and he took that as a yes and released her.

"So... you relax here, I'll bring you something to eat. No allergies?"

"No."

Of course, even if she did have an allergy, Talon would take care of it.

_Yeah yeah, let the_ symbiote _do all the work..._

Melony's smile broadened slightly, and Beckett gave her an amused look.

"Why do I get the feeling you're having two conversations?"

"You're perceptive, Carson," she admitted. "Talon was talking to me, too."

"Saying something to cheer you up?" He guessed, judging from the smile she'd had on her face.

She nodded.

"Good. Tell him to keep talking. I don't want you to fall asleep again until I get some dinner in you."

Dinner? What time is it?

_How should I know? Do I look like a Rolex to you?_

She hid her confusion, and resisted the urge to look at her watch – not like that'd help all that much anyways, since they weren't on the same time.

"I'll stay awake," she promised him.

"Good." He stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be right back."

He left, and Melony rubbed her face, tiredly. Fine way to spend her first days in Atlantis; sleeping. She felt Talon's amusement, and dragged herself out of bed, first heading to the bathroom, and then making for the coffee pot to get another pot of coffee going. What was left was cold, and while she didn't have anything against cold coffee, she much preferred hot when she could get it.

OOOOOOOO

"Carson!"

Beckett turned and saw Dr. Weir coming up behind him in the hall, and he stopped.

"Dr. Weir, hello."

"How's Colonel Mitchell?" Elizabeth asked. "I haven't seen her all day."

"She's been fairly well out of it," Beckett said. "The gene therapy is going at an accelerated rate, but it's wreaking havoc on her; making her sick – which is making her sleepy as well. I'll probably make her stay in bed the rest of the day."

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Oh, sure. The symbiote seems to be doing the job keeping the gene from being rejected – she isn't showing signs of fever or heart murmuring, which are the major indications of rejection – she's just tired and ill. Although not as ill as she was earlier."

"You'll keep me informed if she gets worse?"

"I will, but I _don't_ think it's likely. Talon told her she should be up and around tomorrow."

Weir nodded.

"I'll let the others know. Anything you need from me?"

He shook his head. "I'll stick close to her – just to make sure she doesn't have any side affects – but like I said, she should be up and around in the morning. The rest certainly won't do her any harm."

"Not after that beam attacked her, huh?"

"Exactly." He didn't mention the rest. "The attack took more out of the symbiote than her, but it still hurt her. If not for Talon, she'd be days – maybe even weeks – recovering."

Weir nodded.

"I'll leave you to whatever you were doing," she said, giving him a smile. "If you see Major Sheppard before I do, tell him I'm looking for him, please."

"I'll do that."

She turned and went one way, and Beckett went on towards the infirmary. He'd check with his staff and make sure everything was going well, and then he'd go to the dining room.

OOOOOOO

He didn't see Sheppard – or anyone else for that matter. It was a little early for the others to be eating dinner – although Carson was starving, and if he was hungry (and he'd had breakfast) then he knew Melony had to be, since she hadn't had breakfast – or dinner the night before, come to think of it. He was tempted to load a tray with a lot of food, but he knew that she probably wouldn't be able to eat as much as she thought she could, and so he minimized how much – and what kind of – food he put on the tray. Easy to eat and rather bland were always best when dealing with a sick patient – which was why soup was such a popular sick person food.

He added a few other things; bread, some sliced cheeses and crackers, and a plate with a couple of slices of pumpkin pie on it for dessert, then headed back to her room.


	32. 32

"I hope you like soup..." Beckett said when she'd let him into her quarters a little while later.

She didn't. Soup was for sick people.

"I'll eat it," she told him, taking the tray from him and carrying it over to the bed. If she was going to keep eating in her room, she was going to have to get a table or something, she decided.

"Meaning you don't like it?" He asked, following her.

"Meaning I'd rather have a steak and potatoes." She temporized.

"We don't have any of that," he said, regretfully.

"Actually, if all the supplies I brought made it through the gate, you should have."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Jack – excuse me, _General O'Neill_, figured if you were all still here, and running low on supplies, you'd probably appreciate a good meal or two. Most of the other stuff are MREs and simple stuff, so tell your cooks to enjoy it while they can."

"You gated here unsure if we were even going to be here?" He asked as they both sat on the bed.

Mitchell shrugged.

"I figured if there wasn't anyone here, then I'd figure out either where you all went to, or figure out how to send a message home – or get home myself. Preferably after finding you guys."

"That took a lot of courage..."

She shook her head.

"I was the best choice, Carson. I have Talon."

"And you really didn't care if there was anyone here or not, did you?" he asked her seriously.

She hesitated, but then shook her head.

"I _would_ have minded, because I would have had to try and figure out where you all went – I'd never have tried to get home until I knew what happened to the expedition I'd been sent to find – but as for lack of company... no, I would have been okay."

Carson didn't agree, but he didn't say anything.

"Of course, you would have run smack into that beam without Major Sheppard around to shoot it."

She smiled, wryly. "Yeah, there _is_ that. So I suppose it's a good thing you guys were here, after all, huh?"

"_I'm_ glad we were," Beckett agreed, taking a bite of his soup to encourage her to start eating. "It certainly beats the alternative."

She took a bite of the soup, then, because if there was one thing worse than soup, it was _cold_ soup – and she _was_ hungry, and found it wasn't quite as bad as she'd anticipated. The room fell into a comfortable silence as they both began eating.

OOOOOOOOOO

"You should probably sleep the rest of the night," Beckett told her when they were done eating and he'd started gathering the dishes.

"Is it that late?"

He shook his head.

"Not really, but the more you can manage to sleep during our nights, the easier it'll be for you to get yourself into the rhythm of our days and nights as opposed to Earth's."

"Doctor's orders?" She asked.

He smiled and shrugged.

"How about a strong suggestion from a friend?"

If she hadn't been pretty tired, she might have argued with him. As it was, she nodded. Talon was done with the gene insertion and was merely keeping her body from rejecting it – something he could do while he got some rest of his own – so it would be a good idea for them to rest at the same time. She'd have Sheppard teach her to fly the Puddle Jumpers the next day, and the day after that she'd go Wraith hunting.

"I had planned on doing a little more exploring, but I think you're right," she admitted. "Besides, I'm pretty tired..."

"I'm always right," he told her, standing up and picking up the tray. "I'm a doctor, after all."

She smiled, but didn't disagree. This time he was right. She walked with him to the door, and leaned against the frame.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked her, suddenly serious. "I could stay if you needed me to."

Melony shook her head, and reached out and touched his arm for just a moment in thanks.

"No, Carson, I'll be all right." Probably. "Thank you for... everything... I needed it."

He nodded.

"If you need something, I'll either be in the infirmary, or in my quarters, which are just outside the infirmary."

"I'll remember that."

"Good night, Melony."

He turned and went down the hall, carrying the tray, and Melony sighed, softly. She'd wanted him to stay – she would have really loved the company, no matter what she said – but he'd spent way too much time with her that day already. Besides, she had Talon to keep her company.

_I'm not telling you a bedtime story tonight_

"I'll tell you one, then," She murmured, turning and heading back into her room. "Soon as I make another pot of coffee."

A pot of coffee and a hot shower later, she was once more dressed in sweats and a sweatshirt, and was lounging in her bed, flipping idly through some of the various files on her laptop, but not actually paying attention to what she was reading.

_Go to sleep_

He was inside her, and knew she was tired. More than that, really, she was drained, physically and emotionally, and if they were going to get their much-needed intelligence on the Wraith, she was going to have to be at 100 percent. Once he knew it, she knew it, and she silently agreed. She turned off the laptop, and then the light, and then went to sleep.


	33. 33

The next morning she was up bright and early, feeling better than she had in a long time – and not just since coming to Atlantis. She made a fresh pot of coffee and showered again – when you spent months at a time in a tiny ship with meager bathing facilities, a long hot shower was something to be enjoyed every chance you had – and then she dressed in one of the Atlantean gray uniforms with the black trim that the military units wore. Might as well fit in with the crowd, after all.

More out of habit than any true concern for her health, she strapped her holsters on as well, the Beretta going into its customary spot on her right, the zat in its holster on her left. Jack's Beretta went into her waistband as well, but the P-90 was left where it sat on top of her dresser when she picked up her cup of coffee and walked out of the room to go have a look around on her own and maybe test out the Ancient's gene thing.

OOOOOOOO

"Carson? Have you seen Colonel Mitchell?"

Beckett looked up from his breakfast and shook his head at the question.

"No, not this morning."

McKay frowned.

"I went looking for her to give her this personal shield device, but she wasn't in her room."

"Why would you give her one of the shield devices?" Beckett asked, gesturing for Rodney to sit down.

"So she can take it on her Wraith hunt."

"What?"

Rodney made an impatient gesture.

"Her _Wraith hunt_. You know, the whole reason for the gene therapy in the first place?"

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"She didn't tell you?" Rodney asked, mildly surprised. He'd assumed Carson Beckett had been the first to know, as much time as he'd spent with Mitchell. "She's determined that she needs to see a Wraith up close and personal so she can get a better perspective on them. So she's going to take a Puddle Jumper out to find some."

"That's crazy! Is she out of her mind?"

McKay shrugged.

"She's either stupid or brave," he said. Then he added, a little reluctantly. "She's not stupid, though."

"She must be, to be thinking of going out looking for the Wraith." Beckett pushed his plate away and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I've got to find her and talk her out of this..."

"You're not going to be able to. We all tried yesterday, and she wouldn't listen to any of us. Not even _me_. She won't listen..." he trailed off, since Beckett wasn't listening to him, either. The doctor was already heading across the room for the door, his step agitated. McKay scowled, looked down at Beckett's unfinished meal and snatched the bacon off the plate, then hurried to catch up.

"I can't believe she's even considering doing something so reckless." Carson said, hurrying down the hall towards her quarters.

"She's not in her quarters," McKay told him. "I was _just_ there, remember?"

Beckett stopped, looking at him, and McKay was surprised to see just how worried he was.

"You haven't seen her at all this morning?"

"No. If I had I wouldn't have had to ask _you_, now would I?"

"Damn it."

Beckett started off down the hall in the opposite direction, leaving Rodney staring at him.

"What's with him?"

McKay stuffed a couple slices of bacon in his mouth and looked over at Sheppard, who had been drawn by the commotion.

"He's looking for Colonel Mitchell. I guess she didn't tell him about her Wraith hunting plan, and he's not taking the news well."

"Huh."

"Think we should help him look?"

Sheppard shook his head.

"I don't think so. Nothing we said would talk her out of this plan – and she outranks me, so I can't order her to stay – so maybe Beckett will have more luck..." He didn't sound like he was too optimistic, though.

McKay wasn't so certain, either.

"She seemed pretty determined, yesterday."

"Yeah..." Sheppard looked over at him just as he was stuffing the last of the bacon into his mouth. "Bacon for breakfast?"

"Yup."

"Sounds good." He turned and headed for the commissary. He wasn't worried about finding Mitchell; they had a flying lesson scheduled for later that day, so he was pretty sure she'd come find him.

McKay looked down the hall Beckett had disappeared down, and then shrugged. Breakfast sounded good, and he could give Colonel Mitchell the shield device later. He turned and followed Sheppard.

OOOOOOOOO

After a full hour of searching, Beckett found Mitchell standing in one of the smaller rooms that had been the first room he'd found when they'd arrived in Atlantis. He first heard voices, and had assumed – incorrectly – that there were a couple of women in the room talking, but then he realized that the voice he was hearing was that of the hologram the Ancient's had left. The one that explained where they went and why, and had given them their first hint of the dangers of the Wraith. Curious, he walked into the room from the side, and saw her standing on the small platform that activated the hologram, watching the recording intently. Obviously the gene was working inside her, because only those with the gene were able to activate the hologram – although everyone could watch it once it'd been activated.

She looked over once she realized she wasn't alone, and smiled when she saw who it was. The smile almost made Carson forget he was upset, but only _almost_.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Good morning, Carson. How are you?" She didn't seem at all perturbed at his abrupt greeting.

"How _am_ I?" he asked, walking over. "I'm feeling a bit betrayed and _used_. How are you?"

Her smile faded, replaced by a confused look.

"What's wrong?"

"When were you going to tell me about your little Wraith hunt?"

She'd been right; when he was upset or excited, his accent made him almost impossible to understand. It took Melony a moment to figure out what he'd said.

"I thought you knew..." she told him, confused. She'd assumed someone would have told him. "I-"

"You're going to be killed if you go off looking for the Wraith."

"You don't know that."

"I _do_ know it." He said, hurt and fear vying for dominance in his expression. Mitchell frowned, unsure what to do. She hadn't expected something like this to happen.

"Carson... I need to get a better look at them. It's the only way I can-"

"The Wraith are deadly! Don't you understand? They're the ones that finished off the Ancients. What do you think you could do when the Ancients couldn't do anything?"

"The Ancients were caught with their pants down," Melony told him. She knew this now; she'd watched the hologram thing several times since she'd accidentally turned it on. "They got cocky and weren't used to running into anyone that could beat them, and they paid for it. I'm not going to make that mistake."

"The Ancient's technology wasn't enough to keep _them_ safe from the Wraith," he told her. "Just having the gene and the ability to use their technology isn't going to keep you safe! Don't you understand?"

Melony stepped off the platform and reached out and took his hand as she walked past him. She wasn't going to be yelled at any further – at least not in such an open room where anyone could walk in on them. Wordlessly, she led him out to the balcony that led off the room – the door opened automatically for her, now – and turned to face him, still holding his hand.

"Carson, listen to me..." she said, softly. "You're making the same mistake the Ancient's did. You're thinking that their technology is the _only_ technology out there. It's not."

"They built the Stargate!"

"I'm not saying their technology isn't potent, but it's not all there is. If I can use some of the Goa'uld technology I have access to, and add it to the Ancient's technology and a few things from the good old USA, I'll have a better idea of what can be used to defeat them..."

"They're-"

"Going to pay."

"What?"

She let go of his hand, but even as she'd been holding his, he was holding hers, too, and he didn't let go.

"They killed a good friend of mine, Carson. They _tortured_ him... I'm not going to let them get away with it."


	34. 34

"_What_?" Beckett couldn't believe the fury he saw in Mitchell's pale eyes just then. Where there'd always been a lingering sadness, an ache that signified a hurt so great it seemed a very part of her soul, there was now a glint of steel mingled with an over-large portion of anger. "You're going to risk your life for a taste of vengeance?"

"I'm going to find a way to beat them, Carson," she said, pulling her hand from his because he was squeezing it harder than was comfortable in his surprise and anxiety. "They killed Marshal trying to get him to tell them where Earth was, which means they're not content with what they have here." Of course, what they had here wasn't acceptable to Melony or Talon, either, but _that_ went without saying. "I'm going to stop them before they can get hold of someone else and find out what they want to know, and to do that, I need to know more about them than I've read in the reports."

"And if they capture you? You'll be used the same way they tried to use Colonel Sumner and-"

"They'll have to kill me before I give them any information," she told him.

"They _will_ kill you..."

"I need to see for myself what they can do, and what I can do against them. I can't do that safely holed up here, waiting for them to come find us."

"You tricked me into giving you the gene therapy..."

She shook her head, reached out and took his hand once more.

"Never. I wouldn't do that, Carson." She let his hand go, and turned to walk over and look down at the water. "I honestly thought you knew," she said. "I figured someone would have told you."

"They didn't."

"I'm sorry."

He sighed and walked over to stand next to her, not touching her, but not separated from her by the anger and hurt he'd felt earlier. She wasn't a deceitful person, he knew, which meant that she hadn't tricked him. He'd known it before he even accused her, though, because he'd spent enough time with her to know what kind of person she was.

"What are you planning to do with the Wraith once you find one?"

"I want to see what it can do to me – what weapons and technology it has, and what weapons and technology I have that might counter its own stuff."

"They're damned near impossible to kill," Beckett said. "They regenerate remarkably fast, and bullets don't seem to do much more than knock them back for a moment."

"Then I'll have to see what a zat will do to it. Any clue?"

He shook his head, looking down at the weapon in its holster, hanging against her thigh.

"It might kill it with the second shot, like it does humanoids, but your second shot will probably have to come quicker than normal, or it'd have a chance to absorb the energy of the first one before the second hits."

She looked over at him.

"I hadn't considered that."

"I know the physiology of the Wraith better than you," he said, shrugging. "I've actually studied samples, so I have an advantage when it comes to knowing about what their bodies can do."

"Because you've seen it up close and personal," she said.

He made a wry face, and sighed, but nodded.

"I see your point, Melony..." he told her. "I still don't like it, and I'll worry like hell, but I understand what you're saying."

He wasn't saying he agreed, and he didn't need to say that he'd prefer she changed her mind, but he was telling her without so many words that he wasn't going to be angry with her for doing something that she obviously thought she needed to do.

"Thank you, Carson."

"Just don't do anything foolish..."

Yeah, like going off and looking for the Wraith _wasn't_ foolish?

"I'll be careful." She promised him.

He nodded, but didn't say anything else, and the two of them stood leaning against the railing, silently staring out at the endless water in front of them for a few moments before he kicked back into doctor mode and asked her if she'd had a chance to have breakfast.

"No, not yet."

"Then that's your next stop."

OOOOOOOOO

"There she is."

Sheppard looked over in the direction McKay indicated, and saw Colonel Mitchell walking into the room with Beckett. He watched as she scanned the room quickly, and when her eyes met his own, he realized he was the one she'd been looking for, because she walked over.

"Good morning, Major."

"Good morning, Colonel. Nice uniform."

Mitchell smiled, sliding her hand along an imaginary crease in the brand new gray uniform. It was just as comfortable as her BDUs and even though it was gray, she had pretty much decided it wasn't too terrible.

"Well, I figured I might as well try it on and see how it fits... you know."

"It looks good."

"Thank you."

"Sit down?"

She nodded. "As soon as I get something to eat. Good morning, Doctor McKay." She added, giving him a welcoming nod.

"Good morning, Colonel Mitchell. I have one of those shielding devices for you."

"Great."

"You'll want to eat _before_ trying it on," Sheppard told her, giving Rodney an amused look. He scowled, reminded of his first experience with the device, but he nodded.

"It wouldn't be a bad idea, yes."

Mitchell laughed, "I'll be right back."

Beckett sat down across from Sheppard and McKay, and the three of them watched as Mitchell went over and poured herself a cup of coffee, then moved over to the buffet line and served herself some breakfast.

"Did you manage to talk her out of her Wraith hunt?" McKay asked Beckett.

Carson shook his head.

"She managed to convince me she was right..." It was plain from his tone of voice he still wasn't sure how she'd managed that, but Sheppard understood completely. She'd already managed to convince _him_ that she was right, after all.


	35. 35

After breakfast, Mitchell tried on the shielding device. She pressed it against her collarbone and without hesitation the device started glowing.

"Is it working?" She asked, looking down at it.

Sheppard reached out and put his hand against her shoulder – but he didn't get that close. An energy shield formed between him and her, and he nodded.

"Yup."

"Have him shoot you, Colonel," McKay suggested.

She looked over at McKay, and shook her head. "I think I'll pass."

"It won't hurt."

"Yeah, well... I'll _still_ pass."

Sheppard smiled.

"We're not sure exactly what it'll hold back, but it definitely works for a lot of things."

"How do I turn it off?"

"With your mind," Sheppard said. "Just think about it coming off and it will."

"If you _want_ it off," Rodney corrected.

The device dropped into Melony's hand a moment later, and Sheppard grinned at McKay, who frowned.

"It's not so scary here, _now_, is it?" The Astrophysicist said, defensively.

Even Beckett smiled at that; since he was well aware of how much trouble Rodney had had with the device when _he'd_ put it on. He was still worried about Melony, but he was also curious about whether the gene therapy would allow her to use the shield device – mainly because he wasn't sure the Ancient's technology would work with someone who had a symbiote. Obviously, though, it was, which meant that she could go through with the rest of her plan.

Melony looked down at the device, and then over at Sheppard.

"I guess that means I'm ready for my flying lesson, Major."

Sheppard nodded.

"Whenever you're ready."

"Now is good."

"I'll meet you in the Jumper bay in ten minutes."

"Great."

That would give Sheppard a chance to let Weir know where they were going, and would give Melony a chance to have another cup of coffee.

"Can I come along?" McKay asked. He was always looking for a chance to watch the ships being flown, since he'd had a chance to fly the Jumper once and wanted to improve his skills as well. Even sitting in on a lesson would make him a better pilot and he knew it.

Sheppard looked at Mitchell, who shrugged. "I don't have a problem with that."

"Meet us in the Jumper bay," Sheppard said. McKay nodded, and left the room.

"Do I have to get a special suit?" Mitchell asked.

"Nope. You're fine the way you are. Do you need help finding the bay?"

"I'll take her, Major," Beckett said, speaking up for the first time since they'd started the little experiment. "You go ahead and tell Doctor Weir where you're going."

Sheppard nodded, and left, and Melony turned to the doctor.

"I _know_ where the Jumper bay is, Carson. I found it this morning while I was out looking around." Not to mention it'd been part of the grand tour the day before. "So, unless you _want_ to come with me, you don't _have_ to." He probably had other things to do, after all.

"I'll walk with you, if you don't mind?" Beckett said, smiling. "I have a few things I have to take care of, but there's no hurry."

"You going to come with us?"

"No."

She smiled at his immediate denial, and the two of them started for the door.

"You're not afraid I'd crash us, are you?"

"Of course not." Carson said, echoing her smile. "I just have things to do."

"Uh huh."

"I _do_."

"I'm a good pilot." She assured him.

"I believe you."

"Uh huh."

Carson grinned, and touched her arm, glad that he wasn't upset with her anymore. She was fine company, and he was truly becoming fond of her.

"Major Sheppard wouldn't let you crash."

"I'm not worried."

"Uh huh."

She laughed, and slapped him on the back, and the two of them continued their walk in amused silence.

OOOOOOOO

"Puddle Jumpers are easy to fly," Sheppard assured her fifteen minutes later as he, Melony and McKay all entered the rear of the small ship.

Melony looked around curiously. It was the first time she'd been in any ship that was smaller than Fugly. Except for the Space Shuttle, but that didn't count.

"No wings, though..."

"Drive pods which will come out when we start to fly," Sheppard told her. "They retract so the Puddle Jumper can get through the gate."

"That's pretty damned clever." Now she knew where the Goa'uld had gotten the idea for their own little gate jumping ships, but those didn't have retracting wings.

We should have done that to Fugly

_We can do it to the next one we make_

Yeah.

Sheppard had Mitchell sit in the pilot's seat and he took the co-pilot's seat, leaving McKay to find himself a spot to stand where he could brace himself from anything that the inertia dampeners didn't catch – which wouldn't be much in this ship. It wasn't as if they were going to be under fire or anything – they weren't even leaving the planet.

Sheppard explained the operations of the ship with the flair of a natural teacher. It helped that he was a good pilot, who could literally fly anything, and it also helped him that she was also a pilot, so he just had to come up with similarities between a plane – or helicopter – and the Puddle Jumper. She caught on quickly, asking intelligent questions that proved to Sheppard she understood what he was telling her, and it wasn't long before they both felt she was competent enough for them to hit the air and see how she'd do.

Sheppard took the ship out of the bay, waving a farewell to Weir, who'd come to watch things and was standing next to Beckett, and then with a practiced move of his hands, they were gone a moment later.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The flight was fantastic. Although they stayed close to Atlantis it wasn't because Sheppard was worried about her crashing them. Melony took to the Puddle Jumper as easily as he had, and for the same reason. She was a good pilot. He had her perform all sorts of maneuvers and stunts, and then had her land the ship on one of the few outside landing pads they'd only recently discovered in the city. Once he was sure she could take off and land on such a small piece of real estate, he knew she could do it on anything, so he declared the lesson a success, and they headed back for the Jumper bay.

"You're really going to go through with this plan?" He asked her, as she hit the buttons that turned off all the Jumper systems once they'd landed.

Melony looked over at him, and nodded.

"I have to."

"I could come with you. I have that gene, too, you know, and I could get me one of those shield things."

She shook her head, smiling in true regret. She would have liked his company because she already had him pegged as a good man. She wouldn't have minded a dozen of him backing her up. But that wasn't going to happen.

"You have your duties, Major," She said. "If something happens to me, and I don't make it-"

"Do you really think that's a possibility?" McKay asked. Both of them turned to him; he'd been so quiet the last part of the flight that they'd almost forgotten he was there.

"There's always a chance," she said, shrugging. "I don't intend for it to happen, though, but just in case, we can't have these folks losing you, too. You're the one that the technology here responds to best."

Sheppard nodded. She was right, although he would have felt better if she'd had back up.

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow morning."


	36. 36

"How was the flight?"

Weir was waiting for them in the Jumper bay, having been informed of their imminent arrival only minutes before and deciding that she definitely needed to know if Mitchell had mastered the Jumper.

"She's a natural," Sheppard said as they all walked off the little ship.

"Really?"

Mitchell made a show of breathing on her fingernails and buffing them on the front of her shirt, and Weir smiled at the show of confidence.

"Really," Sheppard confirmed, reaching out and cuffing Mitchell on the back of the head as he walked past her.

"Hey!"

"Don't get so cocky, Colonel. Remember, McKay here can fly one of them, too."

"That's right, I ca- hey..."

Mitchell grinned, running her hand through her short hair to make sure he hadn't messed it up.

"I'm going to go get some coffee."

"Good idea."

Weir nodded as well.

"So, are you planning on doing this Wraith hunt, then?" She asked, echoing the same question Sheppard had asked her only minutes before.

"It's necessary," Melony said, tired of defending her decision.

"What's the plan?"

Weir must have realized that she didn't want to argue about it, and probably realized that it wouldn't do any good anyways, so she decided they might as well talk over what Mitchell had planned.

"I figure I'll take one of the Jumpers to the planet that has the orbiting gate, go in cloaked – or whatever it is you guys call being invisible in the Jumper – land and see if I find me a Wraith. Preferably alone. Then see what happens."

"That's not _much_ of a plan." Weir said.

Mitchell shrugged, and was quiet for a moment as the group entered the commissary and headed for the coffee en masse. Once they'd all poured themselves some, they went over and sat down.

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Dr. Weir," she said, shrugging. "From what I hear there aren't that many Wraith there – the ship's gone, after all – and I'll be careful not to take on more than I can handle."

"You know about their ability to mess with your mind?" Sheppard asked.

She nodded, smiling as Lieutenant Ford came over and joined them, sitting down next to Melony.

"How was the flight?"

"I wowed Sheppard with my amazing flying ability."

"Really?"

She gave him a mock scowl, "Don't look so surprised, Lieutenant. I'll bet there's some potatoes around here that you could be stuck peeling."

Ford grinned, and Melony turned her attention back to the question that had been asked.

"Yes, I've heard about the mind abilities they have. Talon should be able to sift through what's real and what isn't before it has a chance to confuse us. And they won't be able to get into my head for the same reason."

"_Probably_," McKay said.

She shrugged.

"Probably."

"When are you planning on doing this?"

"Tomorrow," Sheppard said, answering before Mitchell could.

"So soon?"

"No sense in putting it off any longer than necessary. I can fly the ship and use the technology. I'll spend the rest of the day getting my things together, and leave early in the morning." That way she'd be fresh.

"I could go with you," Ford offered. "To show you the way."

Mitchell shook her head.

"It's my dumb plan, it's my risk. But thanks."

Ford shrugged, and Melony finished her coffee.

"I'd better go get my things together. If anyone has any questions for me, I'll be in my room."

She stood up and left, and the others watched her as she vanished through the door.

"Does she even have a chance of coming out of this alive?" Weir asked, looking at Sheppard. It was Ford who answered, though.

"She'll be back," the young man said, confidently. "I've seen her in action – even before she blended with Talon. She's one of the best you'll ever see."

Elizabeth nodded.

"I hope so."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

When she reached her quarters, Mitchell headed for the stack of boxes that were sitting against her dresser. These were mostly clothes and odds and ends, but there was also a small stack of devices that she'd brought from home. Things that she'd thought she might need – even though she'd never have dreamed she'd need them to hunt life-sucking aliens.

_Better safe than sorry_

"Pretty much." She agreed, opening up the first case. This one held the charger for her zat – something that she wasn't going to need to take with her, but that she'd use that evening, just to make sure the weapon was at full strength. She set it up and put the zat in it, then turned back to the carton for the next item. She had a number of items that might come in handy – or might end up being completely useless – and she planned on having them all ready.

OOOOOOOOO

She lost track of time while she was making her preparations, and was actually startled when she heard a light knock on the door of her rooms.

"Come in!"

"Colonel Mitchell?"

It was really the last person she'd expected. She turned at the sound of the young voice.

"Jinto?"

He smiled, pleased.

"You remember my name."

"Of course." She couldn't help but echo his smile; it was such a cheerful thing. "What can I do for you?"

"Are you _really_ going to go hunting for the Wraith?"

"How did you find out about that?"

"Teyla told my father, and I was listening."

"Ah."

"Can I come with you?"

"What?"

"Can I come with you when you go hunting the Wraith?"

"No."

"I'm not afraid..."

"You don't have to be afraid. You're not coming."

"But-"

"Jinto. Why on Earth would you want to come with me? The Wraith are dangerous, you know that, right?"

"_You_ know it, and you're going after them."

"That's different."

"How?"

"I'm a grown-up."

Was she really having this conversation?

"I could help you."

Melony looked down into his eager face, and wondered what the heck she'd done to make the boy think this was a grand adventure.

"You can't come, Jinto." She said, sitting down on the edge of her bed, so she could be face to face with him. "What I'm doing is way too dangerous for you to come with me. I couldn't watch you and look out for the Wraith, too, you know."

"You wouldn't have to watch me. I'd stay in the ship. I want to –"

"No. You can't come." She put her hands on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her, demanding that he understand just how serious she was about this. "It's dangerous, and I won't risk you. You're needed here."

"But-"

They were interrupted by another knock on the door, and Mitchell was glad of the interruption. She stood up.

"Come in!"

This time it was Beckett standing there when the door opened. The doctor was surprised to see who was keeping Mitchell company, but he smiled.

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, Carson," Melony told him, waving him in. "Jinto and I were just talking."

"I was wondering if you'd had dinner yet?"

"Dinner?" Was it already that late? Where had the afternoon gone?

"Dinner."

"No." Perfect. She could use a good way to end this conversation, and this one was perfect. "Jinto? Do you want to come to dinner with us?"

Smiling at being included in something – although it _wasn't_ what he'd wanted to be included in – he nodded.

"Do you mind, Carson?"

Beckett shook his head, wondering what the boy found so interesting about Mitchell.

"He's welcome to come."


	37. 37

Dinner was steak and potatoes. It was served the same way the rest of the meals were served; buffet style, where everyone just served themselves once the cooks had put it in the warmers.

"Hey," Mitchell smiled when the three of them walked in. "I smell steak."

Carson nodded.

"Me, too."

"It smells good," Jinto said approvingly.

"That it does."

"_Jinto_!"

The boy groaned at the sound of his name, and turned to see his father coming over to them.

"Where have you been?" He looked at Mitchell. "Has he been bothering you?"

She shook her head.

"He came by to chat, that's all. I don't mind."

Jinto looked relieved at the answer, and Melony couldn't help but smile. Which made Halling relax a bit more. Obviously, he couldn't have been bothering her too much, or she wouldn't be so relaxed around the boy.

"If he bothers you, send him away."

She'd never send him away. Melony wasn't all that great with kids, but she liked them, and wouldn't send one away by telling him or her that he was a bother.

"He's fine, Halling."

Jinto's father nodded, and looked down at the boy.

"You need to go find Teyla."

"But father-"

"Now."

Grumbling, but not outright rebellious, Jinto said good-bye to Mitchell and Beckett, and headed for the door.

"He's not in trouble, is he?" Melony asked.

Halling smiled and shook his head.

'Teyla is handing out treats for the children. However, if he wants to _believe_ he is trouble, who am I to control what he thinks?"

"He came to me and asked if he could come with me on my Wraith hunt tomorrow..."

"How did he find out about that?"

Carson wondered the same thing.

"He says he overheard it somewhere." Mitchell shrugged; she wasn't going to get the boy in trouble for eavesdropping. "I'd like you to keep an eye on him, though. He was insistent, and even though I told him no, I don't think he accepted my answer."

"You think he might try to come with you?" Halling asked.

"Stowaway on the Jumper?" Carson asked.

Mitchell shrugged.

"I don't know for sure that he _would_, but if I were young, and I thought I could be of help, I might try something – and he might, too. He might not, but I won't have him in danger, and if he tried to sneak aboard the ship, he'd be in a lot of danger."

"I will keep him with me until after you leave." Halling assured her, privately agreeing completely with her assessment of his son. Jinto might just very well try to do something like that, if he thought he could help. Add to it the fact that the children were all attracted to Mitchell because of her extra life-force – although they didn't understand what it was that drew them to her, and Jinto was the only one brave enough to actually come over and talk to her – and it could very well have been disaster in the making. Luckily, Mitchell seemed to think ahead – something Halling approved of.

"Thanks."

"Thank you, Colonel Mitchell."

Halling bowed slightly and left, following the same direction that his son went.

Melony turned to Beckett, and saw worry in his eyes. She frowned, and reached out and touched his hand for just a moment.

"Don't look so concerned."

"It's hard not to." Carson admitted. "What you're doing is dangerous."

"There's all sorts of dangers around here," she told him with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a little. "What if I didn't know how to swim?"

"What?"

"A city floating on the water?" Mitchell explained, heading for the buffet line. She was starving. "I'd never go near the windows or balconies."

"I never thought of that," Beckett admitted. He couldn't swim, but he'd always assumed the fall would have killed him long before landing in the water could have. "I should stay away from windows, then, huh?"

"You don't know how to swim?"

"I never had reason to learn."

Melony grinned.

"I'll teach you when I get back."

Beckett hesitated. He didn't really like the water all that much – another reason he'd never learned to swim.

"We'll see..."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Dinner was great, and the company was just as good. Beckett wasn't the only one who ate with Melony that evening. Ford came in only a short time after she and Carson had, and walked over and sat with them while Mitchell was still trying to convince the doctor that she could teach him how to swim. Ford had joined in on the conversation willingly, more than happy to offer his services to Beckett as well. He'd hold up one side while Melony held up the other.

"You wouldn't drown..."

"Who wouldn't drown?"

Weir had joined them, as well, and now there were three of them ganging up on Carson, who wished heartily he knew how to swim, or hadn't brought it up in the first place. Weir mentioned that she thought everyone should be compelled to learn to swim; "Hello, living in a city surrounded by water!" she'd said, smiling.

"I'll think about it..."

"Think about what?"

They looked up and saw McKay coming over, a plate filled with steak and potatoes and fresh veggies.

"Swimming." Ford said.

"What about it?"

"Dr. Beckett can't swim."

McKay shrugged.

"Nothing wrong with that. I can't swim, either."

That set them all off again, and the meal passed with all sort of arguments from Rodney as to why his brain being so big would allow him to float in the event of him falling into the water, and Weir mentioning something about his big ego dragging him under.

Mitchell enjoyed herself, but excused herself shortly after she'd finished eating. She had a few things she wanted to do, she told them, and then she wanted to get to bed early. She said her good-byes and headed for the hallway that led to her quarters, but she walked right past her door and stopped at Sheppard's.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Come in!" Was the immediate response to her gentle knock, and Mitchell palmed the door open and walked in.

His room looked exactly like hers. Not overly large, but not tiny, and dominated by a big bed and a 'dresser'. He'd been stretched out on the bed, reading, but he out his book aside when she entered.

"Colonel Mitchell, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, Major, I have a favor to ask of you, and since I didn't see you at dinner, I thought I'd come looking for you."

"I ate early," he explained. "What's up?"

Melony pulled the Beretta out of the holster that was hidden in the small of her back and handed it to him.

"If something goes wrong tomorrow and I don't make it back, I was wondering if you'd take that back to General O'Neill for me..."

Sheppard shook his head, and tried to hand her the gun back.

"You just make sure you make it back, and then you can take it to him yourself."

Melony moved her hand, refusing the weapon.

"I _intend_ to come back, Major," she assured him. "But things happen and you and I both know it. It'd mean a lot to me if you'd do this for me. Please."

"You're going to come back."

She nodded.

"I'm going to do my damndest."

"I'll tell you what, _Colonel_." Sheppard said, looking down at the Beretta for a moment, and then back at her. "I know you're taking a lot of other weapons with you and you won't have enough room to take this one, too, so I'll hold onto it for you until you get back. But I expect you to come back and get it, because I have better things to do than gunsit for you – or even for General O'Neill. Understood?"

Mitchell smiled.

"I'll be back for it."

Sheppard put the gun in the top drawer of his dresser.

"Anything else I can do for you?"

"Nope. I'm going to go to bed."

"Good-night, Colonel."

"Good-night, Major. Thanks again."


	38. 38

_Sure you're ready for a solo?_

"What? You think I'm going to crash and burn?"

_I'd really rather you didn't_

Melony grinned; she knew he wasn't worried she was going to crash the Jumper. She was a better pilot than that – even with only a few hour's instruction. Besides, the Jumper was practically capable of flying itself; she was just there to tell it where to go.

"Ready?"

_As I'll ever be_

She touched the mike on the radio headset that was in her ear, activating it.

"Um..."

What do you suppose they're calling their mission control?

_Atlantis base_

"Atlantis base, this is Jumper One, do you read me?"

Weir's voice came over the radio a moment later.

"Roger, Jumper One, this is Atlantis base, we read you loud and clear. Are you ready to depart?"

"Atlantis base, do me a favor and scan my ship and give me a count on life forms, please."

"What?"

Standing in the command center of the city, Weir looked over at the others, wondering if Mitchell was asking for something else and just wasn't using the right words. Halling, who was standing near at hand with his hand firmly on a disgruntled looking Jinto understood the request immediately, and his respect for Colonel Mitchell increased. She wasn't taking any chances on his son doing something stupid, and she wanted confirmation.

"Atlantis base," Came Mitchell's calm voice once more. "Please do a scan of my ship and tell me how many people are on board – count Talon and myself as one."

Weir looked over at Grodin and shrugged, then nodded, and Peter pushed a couple of buttons, running a quick scan of the Jumper that Mitchell was in.

"I only see her," he informed Weir.

"Jumper One, we only see one life form."

"Thank you." There was a pause as Mitchell started toggling controls, bringing the ship's systems online. "Jumper One is ready to depart."

"Roger. We're ready as well, Colonel. Good luck, and come back safely."

"I intend to."

There was another pause, and then the Stargate started dialing out as Mitchell entered in the address to the gate that orbited the Wraith planet that Sumner had died on. A moment later, the ceiling opened and the Jumper came into view, slowly descending until it was level with the now active gate. A moment later, it was gone.

Weir turned to the others, noticing that they all looked just as worried as she felt, and she wondered if their stomachs were clenched like hers was.

Sheppard gave her as confident a look as he could.

"She'll be fine..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

_This really isn't the most brilliant of plans..._

"I'm open to suggestions."

_Oh, I don't have one, I'm just telling you we probably could have come up with something better..._

"You don't believe that, though."

_No_

She didn't, either. This was the best way for them to get some intel, and they both knew it.

She looked at the planet below them – gating into space like this was something new, but it was a clever idea, really. She wondered why the Ancients would have built a gate near a planet that was filled with such dangerous creatures.

_Maybe they built it before they met them?_

"Maybe."

She orbited the planet a couple times – she really wasn't in that big of a hurry, after all, and used the scanners on the Puddle Jumper to find a likely spot to land, and then set the small ship down easily.

"So... shall we go see if we can find one of these Boogeymen?" She asked, rhetorically, getting out of the pilot's seat and reaching for the mechanism that would open the rear hatch.

_Yup_

Picking up her P-90, she carried it in a relaxed grip in her left hand as she exited the ship, and then double-checked to make sure the strap that held it to her belt was secure. She needed to be able to drop the machine gun but still keep it close, and that little strap had been the answer. It would hang down no further than her knife did, and would leave her hands free for other things.

Then she stepped away from the relative safety of the Puddle Jumper, and headed for a wooded area she'd seen on the way in for her landing.

_You know, if we stay out of the trees, we'd see them coming easier..._

But they're probably hiding in the trees...

_They're not monkeys, Melony. Just stay out of the trees for now. Hang out somewhere near the ship and see if Teyla was right about them being drawn to you because of me_

She shrugged, and did what he told her; he was a lot older than she was, after all, and she was willing to concede that he was usually right about strategies like this – even though she was sure she'd find a Wraith in a tree. She found herself a comfortable looking rock, and sat down on it, bringing one booted foot up so she could rest her forearm on her knee, and keep her hands out in the open so she'd be free and clear when something showed up. If something showed up.

_Something will show up_

The first thing that showed up were little bugs, which decided that they liked the taste of Colonels. These weren't dangerous, Talon told her when they started biting. There was no poison in the insect's bite that he had to deal with, and nothing that her own immune system couldn't handle without his help. They were just annoying. And she could live with that.

The next things that showed up were small woodland animals. Rabbit-like creatures, and other small mammals came by on their way from here to there, not paying any attention to the person sitting on the rock, but also not coming close to her. She didn't pay much attention to them, either, once she judged that they weren't meat-eaters and wouldn't be interested in her.

"I wonder if the Wraith can feed off the little critters..." She said aloud, more to keep her mind on what was going on than to hear herself speaking.

"No."

Mitchell looked up and saw a creature standing less than twenty feet from her. A creature that had managed to come that close without her or Talon either one seeing it or hearing it.

It was a Wraith.

_Holy shit..._


	39. 39

She was on her feet in an instant, recovering almost immediately from the surprise of being snuck up on, but the Wraith didn't draw any closer. The creature was staring at her in a manner that was similar to the way the Athosians tended to.

"What are you?" It asked in a barely discernable voice.

"What?"

The creature was obviously intrigued enough with Melony that it wanted to know more before it killed her.

_Comforting_

Yeah.

"What _are_ you?" It repeated, more slowly this time, as if it assumed Mitchell was stupid or couldn't understand it. "I have never seen one of-"

"I'm a _Jedi_..." She said, mysteriously.

Talon snorted.

"Are there more of you?"

"Oh, sure. Lots."

"Where?" It seemed excited. "What planet are you from?"

_Where are the Jedi from?_

Beats me, I only saw the movie once.

"Krypton."

"Yes! Krypton... where is this place? How did you come to be here?"

_Is he drooling?_

He might have a cold.

The Wraith obviously didn't like what it perceived as hesitation on her part, because it took a menacing step forward.

"Where is Krypton?!"

"I can't tell you," Melony said, shrugging. "It's a secret place. Very hush hush."

The Wraith took another step forward, obviously angry with her response – or maybe the mocking tone she was using. Melony raised her right hand slightly, palm out.

"Step back, Bubba..." She told it.

Incredulous – it was used to creatures running from it – the Wraith actually hesitated just a moment, and then took another step forward, a sneer on its ugly face.

Talon activated the device on Melony's hand, and a powerful force of energy shot out from the Goa'uld hand device, slamming into the Wraith and tossing it back like a leaf in a strong wind. The creature landed hard on its back, obviously stunned, and Melony stepped forward.

_Well that worked well_

Yeah.

"Had enough?" She asked, goading it intentionally.

With a scream of hatred it sprang to its feet, no longer curious about this creature or its origins. Now it was just going to feed. It took three steps forward and was once again struck by the hand device. Once again it was knocked backwards. It took a moment longer for it to get to its feet this time.

Mitchell pulled the zat from her holster just as another Wraith broke cover from the trees, obviously drawn by the scream, or maybe by Melony's life force.

_Well_... _shit_...

The newcomer rushed Mitchell, and she fired the zat. It fell with an agonized screech, and the first Wraith hesitated, obviously waiting to see what had happened to its companion before facing the weapon as well. Only a moment later, though, the one Melony had shot with the zat was already getting to its feet. So much for a long-term stun.

She fired again, and the creature feel once more, but this time Melony didn't hesitate; there was every possibility that there were more Wraith on the way, and she didn't have time to play around. Not if she wanted to actually have a chance to get out of there alive. She fired once more, and then again. She didn't know if the second shot killed the creature, but the third one did what it was supposed to, and the Wraith was gone in an instant, leaving the first one staring at the empty space in shock.

"What-"

It didn't have a chance to say anything else. Mitchell fired the zat at the Wraith and it fell.

_Finish it_

We need to see if the shield device works against it.

_I don't want it that close_

If others come they're probably going to have those rifle-looking weapons with them. This one doesn't have that, so we need to take advantage of that and learn what we can while we have it.

In the short time it took them to have this conversation, the creature had brought itself to its feet, shrugging off the blast from the zat far more quickly than even Melony would have been able to with Talon's help.

_Fine_

Melony holstered the zat even as the Wraith charged, and it took every ounce of will she had to just stand there as the creature drew close, its hand raised to strike. The blow never landed. The creature crashed against Mitchell, but fell backwards as the combined force of the Ancient's shield device and the Goa'uld shield device that Melony had on as well forced it back from her before it could feed.

It howled in frustration and anger and struck again. With similar results. The creature went reeling.

_Drop the shield_

Are you out of your mind?

_I want to see how it feeds_

It'll kill-

_I'll force it back, Melony. Trust me_

She did, of course.

A moment's though later, the glowing gem that indicated the Ancient's shielding device went dead, and dropped off Melony's shoulder to land in her hand. She braced herself, even as she felt Talon drop the Goa'uld shield device and brace himself as well.

The creature charged again, and this time its hand landed solidly against Mitchell's chest, right below her left breast. A howl of success from the Wraith drowned out her own agonized cry as she felt a lancing pain coursing through her chest, and her heartbeat faltered under the attack.

Talon was all over it, though. He regulated her heartbeat even as he studied the process the Wraith used to feed.

Talon...

Her silent cry was torture, and she knew then how Marshal Sumner had felt before he'd died. Just then she wished Sheppard was there to shoot her and finish the job before the Wraith could.

He didn't respond, but he was already acting. The symbiote had seen what he needed to see, and the Wraith suddenly felt a searing pain racing through its hand and then its arm, up through its shoulder and into its chest. It was so shocked by the pain that it released its hold on Mitchell, and in that instant Talon threw the Goa'uld shielding device back up, protecting his host from another attack.

The Wraith fell backwards, and Mitchell went to her knees no more than three feet away from where it landed. Gasping and unable to focus her thoughts on anything, she didn't see the Wraith getting to its feet once more.

The creature took a step forward, closing the short gap, its hand coming down once more – and a sudden bolt of energy struck it square in the chest and knocked it back once more. Unsure of where the assistance had come from, Talon wasn't about to let it go to waste. He took over Melony's body, and pulled the zat once more from the holster. He fired three times in rapid succession, and the creature vanished.

The zat fell from suddenly numb fingers, and Mitchell clutched her chest where the Wraith had touched her.

_Easy_...

Still in control of her body – mainly because she just couldn't be at that moment – Talon turned her head upwards, where the blast of energy had come from, and saw another Puddle Jumper suddenly uncloaking. It landed close to Mitchell, and Sheppard and Ford came trotting up to her, weapons out. They were being covered by Teyla and McKay, who were holding weapons as well, looking around nervously.

"What are-"

"I love a good Wraith hunt," Sheppard said, nonchalantly.


	40. 40

"McKay!"

Rodney came running over.

"Help Ford get Mitchell into the other Jumper. We'll cover you." He and Teyla would take the ship they'd come in, Ford would fly the one Mitchell had arrived in. It was obvious she was in no shape to fly herself.

McKay slung his machine gun over his shoulder and he and Lieutenant Ford reached down and carefully but quickly pulled Mitchell to her feet.

"The zat," Talon said, pointing at the weapon Melony had dropped. Ford grabbed it up and tucked it into his waistband. They definitely didn't want to leave that for the other Wraith to find, did they?

"Talon?"

Rodney had noticed that Mitchell's voice was far deeper than normal – a sure sign that the symbiote was doing the speaking.

"Move!"

Sheppard didn't care who was talking – they should all be running. He could see rustling in the trees that were about two hundred feet from them, and he was pretty sure it wasn't a herd of wild horses or something coming at them.

Ford and McKay scurried off to the first Jumper, pretty much dragging Mitchell along with them, and as soon as the hatch had closed, Sheppard yelled for Teyla to get into the ship. The first Wraith broke the cover of the trees just as the first Jumper took off, and Sheppard fired his P-90 at them, sending them scattering. He bolted for the Jumper while he had the chance, and Teyla covered him from the rear hatch until he was in, then she slapped the control that shut it.

"We need to get out of here!" She yelled.

"I know..."

Sheppard dropped into the pilot's seat and started the ship, looking out the front viewer at a dozen charging Wraith coming right at him. A dozen charging Wraith who were going to get there before he managed to get the engines powered up and the Jumper off the ground. Teyla got into the co-pilot' chair just as a burst of energy slammed into the charging Wraith. The other Jumper hadn't left, and they were covering Sheppard's retreat.

Good enough.

Sheppard lifted off, and the two ships accelerated rapidly, leaving the planet's orbit in mere seconds.

"Ford?"

"Here, Sir."

"How is she?"

"I don't-"

McKay's voice interrupted. The Astrophysicist had settled Mitchell on the floor of the ship, right behind the pilot's chair, and was checking her over. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew how to look for bleeding and bruises – although that was about the limits of his medical abilities.

"She looks like she's in shock, Major. We need to get back to Atlantis immediately."

Of course, they'd all seen what had happened, so they all knew they needed to get her to medical attention. Ford was already pointing his Jumper at the gate floating in space in front of them.

"Dial it up," he ordered McKay, too busy making sure he was lined up with the gate to take his hands off the controls.

McKay left Mitchell's side and went over to the gate device, dialing in the Atlantis code with practiced ease. A second later he sent through his own IDC, alerting them to lower the shield and let them in.

"Atlantis Base, this is Jumper one," McKay said into his mike. "We're going to need a medical team in the Jumper bay as soon as we land."

"Roger, Jumper One, we'll be ready."

Weir turned to Beckett, who had been pacing the floor of the command area almost since Mitchell had taken off. He'd been muttering worriedly to himself since Sheppard and his team had followed her only an hour or so after she'd left, and when he heard they needed a medic, she saw his face pale under his neatly trimmed beard.

"I'm on my way. Call me a team and have them meet me there."

The doctor left and Weir went back to watching the gate.

OOOOOOOO

She didn't have long to wait. A moment after the shield went down the first Jumper appeared. No sooner had it stopped and ascended to the Jumper bay above the command room, than the second Jumper appeared, and repeated the process.

Weir toggled her mike.

"Major Sheppard? Casualty report?"

"Just Colonel Mitchell, Doctor Weir," Sheppard's voice came back sounding concerned. "I don't have her in my ship, so I don't know..."

He trailed off, obviously powering down the systems in the Jumper in preparation to get out of the ship. Weir didn't wait for any more information to come through the radio. She turned and headed for the Jumper bay where she could check things out for herself.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Where is she?"

Beckett rushed into the bay, but wasn't sure which Jumper Melony was on. Sheppard came out of the one he'd been flying and pointed towards the other one, just as Beckett's medical team came trotting up, armed with first aid equipment and a gurney. The rear hatch was just being lowered on the ship, and Carson fidgeted impatiently as it lowered.

"She's in here," McKay said, waving them all in the moment the ramp was down enough that they could jump up.

"What happened?" Beckett was on his knees beside Melony's still form instantly, but he was looking at McKay when he asked the question.

"She dropped the Ancient's shielding device..."

"Dropped it?"

"It turned off," Rodney said. "Right as the Wraith was coming at her."

"But that's impossible. That's when she would have needed it the most. It-"

"She had to have turned it off," McKay told him. He better than anyone knew just how the crazy shielding devices worked. "I don't think anything the Wraith did could have shut it down."

Carson looked down at Mitchell, his fingers searching for a pulse.

"How long has she been unconscious?"

"Talon was in control for a while..." Ford said. "I don't know when he..."

"Did it feed?"

McKay nodded, his face pale.

"Damn it..." He never should have let her go. Stupid plan, anyways. Stupid reckless plan... Carson ripped her shirt open, revealing an almost perfect large Wraith handprint that covered most of her left side. It was raw and bloody, looking like hamburger more than anything else.

"Oh, God..." McKay turned his head, definitely green now, and he left the Jumper without even being told to.

"Is she going to be all right?" Ford asked, looking a bit pale as well.

"Let's get her to the infirmary," Beckett called to his team, ignoring Ford's question since he wasn't sure of the answer.


	41. 41

Author's note: This chapter might be a little short.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The medics stripped Mitchell out of her uniform and put her into bed; hooking her up to two separate monitors so that they could track Talon and Melony both. Beckett couldn't find anything wrong with Talon – not that he could have done anything to help the symbiote anyways – but Melony was another matter.

She was completely unresponsive to his touch, and appeared to be almost catatonic. He didn't have much experience dealing with someone who'd been attacked physically by the Wraith like she had been, and someone who had actually been touched and who knew how long the Wraith had fed on her? He didn't know how that would affect her mind – but he could see the damage done to her body, and he had to be content with just dealing with that and hoping that her symbiote would be able to take care of the rest.

He gave her a hefty painkiller, knowing that the wound to her side was going to really hurt if she woke up any time soon, and then coated it heavily with an antibiotic before putting a loose dressing on it. The wound was raw and red and he could only hope their antibiotics were enough to hold back any alien infection – or that it would do the trick until Talon could step in and take care of the injury himself.

They started IVs to keep her fluid intake level, and then put her in one of the small rooms off to the side of the infirmary that they had mapped out for an isolation room but had never had to use yet, covered her warmly and continued to monitor her progress.

OOOOOOOOOO

"How is she?"

Sheppard had been the one to ask the question, but everyone in the small group gathered outside the infirmary was obviously wondering the same thing.

Beckett shrugged.

"I'm not sure, yet. Talon seems to be fine – and I hope to God he is, because Melony's not going to recover without some help." He looked at Sheppard. "How long did the Wraith have her?"

John shrugged and shook his head.

"A few minutes – maybe five."

"How long do you think it takes to do irreparable damage?" McKay asked.

"I don't know."

"Is she going to be all right?" Weir asked.

"I don't know."

"Can I see her?"

"No. She's going to need rest – and I don't want anyone close to her until I have a chance to see if Talon's going to be able to heal her."

"How long will that take?" McKay asked him.

Beckett shrugged. He didn't know enough about the symbiote – or about how it was doing. That made it impossible to even make a guess.

"I don't know."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"There isn't even anything _I_ can do, Major," he said, showing his own very real frustration, although he hid his fear well. Doctors were good at that, after all. "I'll keep you informed."

That was clearly a dismissal, and they all knew it. Beckett went back into the infirmary, closing the door behind him, leaving them all in the hallway.

"What happened, Major?" Weir asked. "Did the technology she was trying to use fail?"

Sheppard shook his head.

"We got there while it was happening, but it looked like she was holding her own against the Wraith form what I could see. She definitely knocked him backwards a couple times, and she didn't look like she was having any trouble."

"Right up until the shielding device turned off and the Wraith got hold of her," Rodney corrected.

"Yeah."

"It just turned off?"

"Yes."

"I wonder if the Wraith was able to control it?"

"The Wraith don't have the ability to control the Ancient's technology," Rodney said, confidently as they all started walking away from the infirmary. "If they did, then the Jumpers would be falling from the sky. Mitchell turned the thing off herself – she had to."

"Why would she do something like that?"

"Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? And not one we'll be able to ask her until she wakes up."

"So the Goa'uld technology works?" Weir asked. If it did, then that was a weakness they'd found that they might be able to exploit. Of course, they didn't have a lot of Goa'uld technology, but any little advantage was that much more than they had now.

"The zat certainly did," Sheppard said. "There were two of them and they both vanished."

"We don't know if the second shot kills, though. And the first shot definitely knocked them back, but not for long."

"Well, I'm not going back to find out," John said.

"Me, either." Ford nodded his agreement.

"We'll wait and see what Colonel Mitchell can tell us when she wakes up," Weir told them as they reached the command center.

"If she wakes up."

Leave it to McKay to voice the thing they were all thinking.


	42. 42

Beckett stayed in the infirmary. He didn't actually have to. He had plenty of staff who had nothing more to do than the occasional stitches and broken bones that come with being responsible for the health of a large group of healthy people, but he didn't want to hand Melony's care over to one of them. And he was honest enough with himself to admit that it wasn't just because he was the chief medical officer and it was his responsibility to be there.

He spent countless hours in the small room off the main infirmary, watching her as she slept, listening to the monitors that were beeping in time to Melony's heart – and Talon's – and wondering about what McKay had mentioned when he'd said the shielding device had come off at just the wrong time.

Had it actually been the wrong time? He knew more than anyone there just how much she was hurting – no matter how she smiled at the occasional joke. There was a hurt in her eyes that was never far from the surface, a mirror of the ache of loss she was feeling at the death of her Major. Had she decided at the last minute – or even sooner, for that matter – that a Wraith was as good a way to end the hurt as any? She didn't strike him as a type who would suicide, but he didn't know her all that well, no matter how much time he'd spent with her, and he knew that people who were in pain could sometimes do radical things to try and escape it.

He sighed, and leaned over her, brushing his fingertips along her temple.

"You're going to be okay..." he whispered, promising her something he had no business promising just then.

She moved slightly, turning just a little towards the touch, but she didn't wake. Not completely, anyways.

"_Brad_...?" The voice was a dazed whisper, and came out of a fog that Carson knew wasn't lucid. She was asking for her Major, but she wasn't awake enough to hear the response – even if Brad Anderson had been there. Beckett thought his heart would break, and there was a stinging in his eyes when he leaned closer and brushed his lip gently against her ear.

"I wish I was, Melony..."

She mumbled something that he couldn't understand, and he waited, hoping she'd fight her way back to consciousness, but a moment later she settled once more, and he knew she'd lost that round of the battle. She was asleep again.

OOOOOOOOOO

Melony was asleep, but Talon wasn't. And the symbiote wasn't idle. His host was in bad shape, however. Maybe worse shape than he'd ever seen. The physical injuries weren't too severe – nothing he had time to deal with, and nothing that was serious enough for him to try and deal with just then. But the Wraith had actually managed to form a sort of bond with Mitchell in the few minutes that it had been in direct contact with her – a byproduct of their feeding, the symbiote knew, now – and that bond had exposed Melony to things that she hadn't been able to handle well. The Wraith held an evil in their souls that Mitchell had never experienced before and even though Talon had managed to shield her from the memories of the creature once he realized what was happening, it had been too late. She'd withdrawn her mind from that evil rather than be tainted by it, and had unfortunately also inadvertently withdrawn from her bond with Talon – and now she was having trouble gaining that mental equilibrium back.

Basically, she was floating in a place that was only her, and she couldn't focus enough to recapture the basic essence of herself. And the longer it was allowed to go on, the harder it would be for her to recover. Had she been a normal human, she undoubtedly never would have recovered. She would have been like one of the lost souls that filled the mental institutions; waiting out the days staring at blank walls and ignoring the people around them because they didn't even see the people around them, and couldn't feel the people around them. Detached in a way no one could ever understand without living through it themselves.

She _wasn't_ normal, though. She had Talon, who was going to be her focus point – if he could be – and had spent what seemed like far too long trying to find that piece of herself that had escaped the evil of the Wraith only to become lost to him as well. The same way Melony had healed Talon from the effects of the anti-Goa'uld beam, Talon was trying to heal her.

He was searching along the shattered remnants of their bond, looking for that one spark that was left. Her psyche was complex, though, and the search seemed endless, but Talon was well aware that this was his fault, and he wasn't going to give up.

A gentle touch – one _he_ felt more than Melony did – and a soft whisper in her ear, and a flicker of a response from her. Just the thing he'd been looking for. The tiny spark flared for an instant – less than a second – but it was enough. Talon grabbed that spark tightly, capturing the awareness before it could fade once more, and 'yanked' it close, holding it firmly. There was a brief struggle – she wasn't so sure she wanted to be captured knowing what she was going to be facing when she got back – but Talon fought her, 'feeding' her positive thoughts and memories, assuring her that the evil wasn't close to her anymore, and reminding her that there were those who still needed her. She needed to return to them.

Her mind had instantly focused on Brad. The gentle touch was something so similar to his touch that for the briefest of moments she'd thought it was him – a hope that Talon had almost allowed her to believe before he realized that it would have been a cruel thing to do to her. It wasn't something he'd do – not even to save her – and he'd reminded her that it couldn't be Brad, but it was someone who cared. He didn't share Beckett's word with Melony, but he had sent her a gentle swelling of love – Talon loved Mitchell far more than anyone would believe a symbiote could love its host – and Melony responded to that.

Talon?

_I'm here_

Where...?

She was still so dazed and confused that there was no way he'd be able to hold a conversation with her. He had healing to do, and he needed to repair their tattered bond. To do that, he needed her to be settled.

_Rest, Melony. I'll explain it all later_

She didn't nod, but she did send him an affirmation, and a moment later she stopped struggling to wake, and settled back into her sleep.

He waited, soothing her battered psyche with gentle love until he was certain she was asleep once more, then he went to work.


	43. 43

She drifted for a long time. She didn't hurt, and didn't feel much of anything – although she was very much aware of Talon being with her, constantly communicating with her even though she never answered him and he never expected her to. It was more like he wanted to make sure she knew he was there and was doing so by simply babbling. Which wasn't something he normally did. It was this oddity that eventually brought her from her drifting.

Talon?

_Hmmm?_

What are you talking about?

She felt amusement from him, and a lot of relief.

_Nothing important, Hot Shot. How are you feeling?_

She didn't answer immediately, knowing that if he was asking – and he was inside her, so he knew how she was feeling – then he wanted to know about her mental state, and to give him an honest answer she actually had to stop and think about it.

I'm okay. What happened?

_I almost got you killed_

She was confused by the self-loathing in his 'voice'.

It's not the first time.

_This time was different, Melony_, he told her seriously. _The Wraith was something we should have stayed away from – and I never should have let it feed on you just to see what made it tick. I almost lost you to it_

I made the decision, she said. Not you.

_I told you to trust me_

And I did, and I do. I'm not going to die, am I?

_No_

Then my trust was well placed. Did you find out anything interesting? Did it do any permanent damage?

_I learned quite a bit, but I'll tell you later. You need to start moving around a bit – you've been out for a long time and I want to make sure everything is working like it's supposed to be_

How long?

_Almost a week_

"A week?"

She was so startled, she spoke aloud, and opened her eyes at the same time – and about gave Carson Beckett a heart attack.

The doctor had been at her side as consistently as he could be over the last week. After the first twenty-four hours after the Wraith hunt, her heartbeat and breathing had settled into a far more normal rhythm and he'd been slightly relieved, assuming that Talon had gained the upper hand on whatever had been wrong with her. That relief had lasted about ten hours before it had given way to more concern when she hadn't woken up in what he'd thought was a reasonable amount of time.

A day had passed, and then another, and still she lay motionless on the bed, giving no responses to anything he tried – although her reflexes were good, and her bodily functions all were normal. The wound to her side had healed completely – there wasn't even a scar. That told him that Talon was doing something, but it also made him suspect that there was far more wrong with her than the physical – something that maybe Talon couldn't fix?

The others wanted to know how she was doing, but he didn't have any information for them. He didn't know. She was sleeping, he told them repeatedly. When she woke up he'd know more. It wasn't much, and he could tell they weren't satisfied with that answer, but it was the only one he had, and it was all he could tell them. So they'd go away for a while, but would eventually return asking the same questions, and receiving the same inadequate answers.

So he stayed close by, leaving her side only long enough to grab a quick bite to eat occasionally. He slept in a chair near her bed, and when he was awake he spent endless hours looking through medical books and disks, hoping to find something that he might be able to do to bring her out of whatever it was that had hold of her. He'd been in the middle of rereading the same article on comatose patients that he'd already read a half dozen times when she spoke up – her voice surprised and strong, but nowhere near as surprised as he'd been to hear her speak.

He dropped the book with a clatter and almost fell off the chair. He looked over at her, his heart racing, and found that she wasn't just speaking, she'd actually opened her eyes and was looking around her.

"You're awake."

There was relief in his voice that echoed Talon's, and she noticed it immediately.

"Yeah..."

"How are you?"

He had a penlight in his hands instantly, and was leaning over her, shining it in her eyes, checking her pupils.

Melony squinted.

"I'm fine."

"Any headache?"

"No."

"Blurry vision?"

"I don't know." All she'd seen so far was the light from his penlight.

He moved the light out of her eyes and held his hand up in front of her.

"Any trouble focusing on my hand?"

She shook her head.

"Can you follow-"

"Carson..."

"Yes?"

"Give me a minute to wake up, okay?" She reached out and took his hand, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't ready to deal with a battery of tests or a lot of questions. She felt lethargic – mainly since she'd been asleep for a week – and not quite ready to face the world, or anyone in it.

He squeezed her hand gently, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She closed her eyes.

_Don't go back to sleep_

"Are you going back to sleep?"

"No. I'm just... resting."

"You've _been_ resting..."

She could tell he'd been worried, and she felt a pang of guilt at the thought of him worrying about her for a week.

"I'm sorry..."

_It's my fault_

"Don't be." With the hand she wasn't holding, he reached over and brushed his fingers against her cheek. It wasn't the touch of a worried doctor, but Melony wasn't aware of the difference just then. She was still trying to gather her thoughts.

Don't be so hard on yourself. We made it, right? No harm done.

_It could have been much worse_

It wasn't, though. Stop feeling so guilty, I think it's making me feel guilty, too.

She felt amusement at that, and knew that even though he wasn't completely convinced, he would be eventually.

_You need to pay attention to your doctor, Hot Shot. He looks like he could use a little reassuring_

She was surprised to see that Talon was right. Beckett looked awful. Worry lines around his eyes that she was sure hadn't been there before, and he looked exhausted. Relieved, but exhausted.

"Carson?"

He must have realized she was aware of how tired he looked, because he smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand.

"I'm fine, too, Melony. I was just worried about you."

"You look tired."

"I am, a little."

"Go get some sleep."

"I will. In a bit. Can you eat? Are you hungry?"

"Starved..."

Can I eat?

_The more the better_

"I'll go get you something to eat..."

He started to let go of her hand, but Melony squeezed it once more before he could. She was almost reluctant to let him go, and figured it had to be some kind of crazy side-affect to whatever had been wrong with her. Maybe she didn't want to be alone? She certainly didn't really want him to leave her.

Almost as if he understood, he leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead as he let go of her hand.

"I'll be right back."

She nodded, and closed her eyes.

"No soup, okay?"


	44. 44

He didn't immediately go get her something to eat. There were too many people who had been worried for far too long about her to allow them to worry any longer, so although it was the middle of the night and the place was more or less deserted – except for those on the midnight watch in the command center – Beckett made Weir's quarters his first stop.

She came to the door in response to his knock, but it took a bit, and when she opened it he knew he'd woken her. She looked sleepy, worried and just a bit out of sorts at having been woken so late, but when she saw who it was, everything else faded and she just looked worried.

"Carson?" She immediately assumed it was bad news, since good news never happened in the middle of the night.

"She's awake, Doctor Weir," he told her, much to her relief.

"How is she?"

"It's too early to tell, really, but she's talking and _seems_ to be fine – I'll know more later. I just wanted to let you know."

Weir breathed a deep sigh, smiling.

"I'm glad you did."

"I need to get back to her."

"I'll inform the others. You go do whatever you need to." She couldn't help the foolish grin on her face. Rodney had been telling them for days in his typical pessimistic fashion that he was certain Mitchell wasn't going to wake up – that she'd been in contact with the Wraith for too long to recover. She was going to make sure he was the first one she woke up.

"You can't come and see her," Beckett warned her. "They can't either."

"When can we?"

"Maybe in the morning. We'll see how she feels after she eats."

"I'll make sure they know." She put her hand on his arm for a moment. "Well done, Carson."

He shrugged, but he couldn't help but smile. He felt too good _not_ to smile.

"She and Talon did all the work, Doctor Weir. I was just an audience."

"Uh huh..." Weir knew better. She shooed him away from her door, well aware that she wasn't really all that dressed for company – or for standing out in the hallway. "Get back to your patient."

Carson nodded, and left her standing in the hallway, turning to head for the commissary.

Weir watched him go, then went back into her quarters and started getting dressed. She wasn't tired anymore, and she had a few people to go wake up. Whether they chose to stay awake was completely up to them, but she didn't want any of them to be complaining because she didn't let them know the good news immediately.

The commissary was deserted and dark. On the buffet serving table there were a couple of warmers that held what amounted to a late night snack in the event that those few who had the night duty shifts were in need of something to eat during their breaks, but it wasn't much of a selection. He took a tray and a mug, filling the mug with a cup of coffee. It wasn't all that hot, and it was a little strong, but it would do until morning, he supposed. He filled a plate with a sample of everything they had out – a little pasta he wasn't certain she'd be able to eat, a couple of packages of peanut butter crackers, a bit of casserole that had potatoes and ham in it, and for dessert a piece of pecan pie.

Then he carried it back to the infirmary.

She had her eyes closed when he returned, but he knew he wasn't asleep. Her hand was idly rubbing the spot on her torso under her left breast that had been the area the Wraith had touched her – and had left the nasty wound.

"Does it ache?" He asked, softly.

She opened her eyes, looking over at him as he walked up to the bed.

"No, not really... it's probably a phantom pain or a memory of the pain or something." She stopped rubbing her side and tried to sit up. Beckett set the tray down on a stand and moved over, pulling extra pillows down and bunching them up behind her to prop her up into a sitting position.

"Is it completely healed?"

Talon?

_It's healed_

"Talon says it is."

"He'd know best."

_Don't ever forget that_

Melony smiled, glad the symbiote was bantering with her. It proved he wasn't feeling so guilty – which would never do.

"He knows best about _that_," she corrected, aloud so they'd both hear her. "Is that coffee I smell?"

"It's not very fresh, I'm afraid."

"It doesn't have to be."

He handed it over to her and she took a long, appreciative sip.

"They didn't have much for options for eating," Carson told her, putting the tray over her lap and pulling the little legs down so she wouldn't have to try and balance it. "I brought you a little of everything."

So she saw. Pasta and crackers and some kind of potato and ham dish, and for dessert...

_Oooo, pecan pie!_

I hate pecan pie.

She hated it, but Talon loved it, and Melony hid a scowl, knowing that Beckett wouldn't understand the look she gave the dessert. She'd eat the pie, but only to make Talon happy.

_Whatever works_

She could feel his smug happiness, and it cheered her up a little. Ah well, she'd eaten worse.

"It looks good," she told him, picking up a fork and trying the ham and potato dish.

_No, the_ pie 

Not until I buffer it with something else.

He grumbled, and he mumbled, and Melony grinned foolishly until Carson finally had to ask her what was so funny. Mitchell explained it to him, not bothering to hide the inflections in Talon's part of the conversation, and Beckett was soon smiling as well. He'd never imagined that the host and symbiote could banter like that, but apparently Melony and Talon did it all the time.

"The difference between a Tok'ra and a Goa'uld," Mitchell told him, finishing up the potato dish so quickly that Carson wished he'd brought her more.

_The fact that you're not eating the pie first is the difference between Tok'ra and Goa'uld_, Talon told her.

Mitchell snorted, and choked on her first bite of peanut butter cracker, gagging on it and laughing at the same time, and completely unable to catch her breath. Beckett slapped her back a few times to help her out, and handed her the coffee cup once more, and eventually she managed to get everything back where it belonged, but by then she was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. And again she had to explain what was so funny to Carson so he wouldn't think she was completely off her rocker.

All in all, it was a good way to spend her first meal in a week – between the gentle assistance of the doctor when she had trouble with the pasta, to the carefully sardonic humor of her symbiote, Mitchell couldn't even remember what had been so awful about the Wraith. Which was something Talon was already taking steps to make sure continued.


	45. 45

By the time she was finished eating – even the pecan pie – she felt fairly good. A bit tired and weak, maybe, but Talon assured her that that was just from being in bed and motionless for so long and once she started moving around a bit she'd feel better. Since it had to do with her health, she passed this message on to Carson, who nodded his agreement.

"Prolonged bed rest is definitely not something I recommend if it can be avoided," he told her. "It always ends up making the patient need more therapy than the reason they're in bed in the first place."

Since Talon was agreeing with him – even though she had a definite advantage there and wouldn't need to have any formal therapy thanks to Talon – Melony simply nodded. She had other concerns besides herself just then. She was, after all, feeling fine – more or less – and he still looked tired.

"Speaking of bed rest," she said, reaching out and resting her hand lightly on his to make sure she had his attention. "You should get some yourself."

He looked down at her hand, and smiled, which made him look even more tired.

"I should stay here and make sure you're-"

"Carson, I'm fine." She squeezed his hand, reassuringly, touched by the concern she could see in his eyes, but also unwilling to let him stay and coddle her. Talon could coddle her for a while. "Go to bed."

"You're sure?"

She nodded, and then looked down at all the machines and monitors she was attached to.

"Unhook these, first, though."

Especially the IVs. She didn't need them, now, and the needles were uncomfortable.

_Baby_

Hush, you're _supposed_ to be coddling me.

He didn't reply, but she felt his amusement, which was a reply of its own.

Beckett carefully removed the needles from her hand and her forearm, wrapped both extremities to make sure she didn't bleed before Talon could take care of the minor wounds caused by the needles.

"I'll be back in a little while," he told her, checking the pillows that were stacked behind her to make sure they weren't bunching and might cause an irritation while he was gone. "Do you want me to bring you some more coffee before I go?"

Oh, that was tempting. She wanted another cup of coffee more than she wanted anything else, but she also knew it was completely unfair of her to turn him into her official gofer. She could wait.

She shook her head, reaching out and catching his hand once more.

"Thank you for staying with me."

He flushed, and she wondered if she'd embarrassed him. Before she could apologize and let go of him, though, he squeezed her hand.

"You're welcome." He hesitated, and she sensed he wanted to say something else, but he didn't. Instead, he let go of her hand and smoothed the blankets that were covering her. "If you need me, just shout out. One of the medics will get me."

"I will."

She wouldn't, though. She'd let him sleep as long as he could, and if she needed something, she'd do without.

He left, then, and she sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn't planning on sleeping, but she didn't need her eyes open to talk to Talon, and he was the only one in the room with her, now.

_I like him_

She was so surprised by that that she actually opened her eyes again. Where had that come from?

_What? I can like him, can't I?_

Sure.

_You like him_

He's a nice guy.

_That's it?_

You know better.

Yeah, he did. She very rarely bothered to even try to hide her feelings from him, and when she was hurt or indisposed like she was just then, it was impossible.

_So there's hope there?_

She shook her head, closing her eyes once more.

I don't know, Talon. I... I'm not ready for-

_No, you're not. Yet._ She felt him give her the symbiote equivalent of a hug. _But you will be some day, and I wanted to make sure you knew that_

You'll remind me if I forget

_Every day_

OOOOOOOOO

Beckett's quarters were a small suite of rooms that were right across the hallway from the infirmary. There were three rooms – a living room type area, a bedroom and a bathroom – but the luxury was only because everyone had conceded that as chief medical officer his quarters should be close to the infirmary, and the quarters near the infirmary were just plain nicer than those elsewhere in Atlantis. When he closed the door quietly as he left Melony's little isolation room, he was debating whether he wanted to take a long hot shower before or after he fell into his bed. Now that he wasn't with Mitchell and hiding how tired he was, he was feeling just how tired he _was_.

He didn't get to wonder long, though. A small crowd was waiting outside the main entrance of the infirmary and he almost ran into them before he realized they were there.

"How is she doing?" Sheppard asked.

The Major was wearing what he'd been wearing when Weir had woken him – lounge pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt that was well-worn and had obviously seen better days.

Beckett gave them a surprised look – if they'd been waiting since he'd woken Weir up then they'd been waiting at least an hour – and then he smiled.

"She's going to be fine, as near as I can tell."

"Can we see her?" McKay asked. The Astrophysicist had taken the time to dress, but looked no less anxious to check on Mitchell.

"No. Not yet."

"But you said she's going to be okay," Ford protested.

"She is, but you can't see her until she gets out of bed – probably sometime tomorrow morning – so you all might as well go back to bed."

They didn't like that, he could tell, but even though they all grumbled and threw him reproachful looks, he knew they'd do what he told them. He gave them a look of his own, making sure they all understood he was serious, and then headed through the small crowd and to his rooms. He'd shower when he woke up; he was tired.

"Well..."

Weir looked over at McKay, who was wearing a slightly sullen and rebellious expression.

"Rodney. _No_."

The look changed to innocent immediately.

"What?"

"He just said you can't see her, so don't even think about sneaking in there."

"I wasn't thinking about sneaking in there..."

A hand came down on his shoulder and he looked over and saw it belonged to Sheppard. The Major didn't believe that for a moment.

"Good. Come on, I'll walk you back to your quarters."

"I know where they are."

"I know. Let's go."

The hand tightened on his shoulder, and McKay was steered away form the door and towards the hall.

"But-"

Weir smiled, and shooed the others away as well.

"I guess we'll see her in the morning, people. All of you back to bed."


	46. 46

One person didn't get shooed away. He hadn't waited any longer than was necessary to hear that Colonel Mitchell was awake and going to be all right before he'd edged past the others – who were all paying far more attention to the doctor than they were to him – and through the door of the infirmary.

He looked at the row of beds, but they were all empty. Which left only one place.

OOOOOOOO

Mitchell opened her eyes when she heard the door opening, assuming that Carson had forgotten something, or had a last minute instruction to give her. She was wrong, though, it wasn't Carson; it was someone much smaller.

_Jinto_

Melony smiled.

I _know_ his name

Unaware that she was smiling at Talon, Jinto returned her smile, taking that as permission to draw a bit closer to the bed.

"Are you supposed to be in here?" She asked him.

"Probably not." He admitted. He was nothing if not honest. "Are you really okay?"

She nodded.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

"Positive?"

"Does your dad know where you are?"

He smiled; realizing that he had pestered her and she'd found a nice way to tell him so.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Jinto came over and stood next to her bed, staring at her for a long moment.

"Do you _really_ have a creature living inside you?"

Melony nodded.

"He's called a symbiote."

"Does it hurt?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"He's my friend, Jinto. He wouldn't hurt me any more than Teyla would hurt you."

"But he wasn't always there, right?"

She shook her head again; glad she was feeling fairly good, because she'd never have been able to handle this conversation if he'd come in right after she'd woken up.

"No."

_You might as well tell him the full story. He's going to ask you a million questions if you don't_

He'll probably ask me a million questions, anyways.

She felt his amusement, and grinned.

"Here, Jinto," she said, patting the bed next to her. "You get comfortable, and I'll tell you all about how Talon and I met."

"Really?"

He'd actually expected to be shooed away as well, but she was making him welcomed as if she'd known him forever. Jinto clambered up on the bed next to her – careful not to touch her, since he didn't want to hurt her, but close enough to feel the warmth from her blanket covered body.

"Comfortable?" She asked him, amused to find herself in storyteller mode. "It's a long story."

He nodded, grinning with anticipation. Everyone liked a good story, after all – and he was going to know stuff about her that none of the others did!

_If you begin with once upon a time..._

Melony snickered, and covered the noise with a slight fake cough. She leaned back against her pillows, getting comfortable, too.

"Okay, about three years ago, I was with the other members of my team on this planet..."

She told him the story of the ill-fated trip to the planet with the pyramids beginning with the ambush by the Jaffa – although she didn't even try to describe them to the boy. That would have raised a billion questions before the story had even begun, and she didn't feel like answering that many. Right now, she'd tell the story. Later, if he had questions, he could ask them.

He didn't have a chance to ask any questions.

To her surprise and Talon's amusement, the boy didn't even make it past the first trip back to the gate after the ambush. It had been a long day for him and it was now the middle of the night. He'd been woken up from his sleep when Teyla had come to tell his father that Mitchell was awake and he'd asked to be allowed to join them. He was warm and comfortable, and her soft voice was soothing without her even realizing it. She put him to sleep in less than half an hour.

Well, it's a boring story anyways, she told Talon.

_That's because I'm not in it yet_

Melony smiled and took the blankets that were covering her and draped them across the sleeping boy, then slid out of her bed – and almost fell on her face when her legs decided that they weren't up to holding her up. She grabbed at the post of the bed, leaning heavily against it for a long time before she staggered to the door and left Jinto to his rest.

A medic met her almost immediately.

"You _shouldn't_ be out of be out of bed," she said, reaching out and taking her arm to support her.

"Oh, I know."

She sat down on the closest bed and told the medic about her nocturnal visitor.

"I figured his father would come looking for him eventually, but he fell asleep... so _he_ can have my bed, and I'll go sleep in my room." Where she would also be able to make herself a cup – or a pot – of coffee.

The medic wasn't so sure about letting her go, but Mitchell was pretty much an enigma to them all and she was ready to concede that she couldn't really keep the Colonel in bed if she didn't want to stay there. But she wouldn't send her off on her own, either. Not as unsteady as she was.

"I'll send an orderly with you to make sure you make it to your room," she decided.

Mitchell nodded. She'd appreciate the help.

OOOOOOOOO

Ten minutes later she was in her quarters, and feeling about as shaky as she'd ever felt. For someone who'd felt so great only an hour or so before, she couldn't believe how quickly it'd changed.

_You're far from healthy_

Obviously.

She sighed, and sprawled on her bed. She was too tired to even make a cup of coffee, and that had never happened before. Before she could even consider covering up or getting a pillow to cuddle up to, she was asleep.


	47. 47

As Melony had suspected, Halling had, indeed, gone looking for Jinto – only to find him sound asleep in the infirmary. When the medics told him that the boy would be fine there for the night, Halling had shrugged and headed for his own bed. Morning would be soon enough to chew Jinto out for worrying him.

Therefore, when Beckett had come to check on Melony bright and early the next morning, he'd been understandably confused when he found the boy sleeping where he'd left her. The medics told him where she was, though, and he went to her quarters to see if she was awake yet.

She was, but not completely, which really didn't surprise him all that much. No one – even someone with a symbiote apparently – could recover from that much time unconscious in only a few hours or even a day, and Beckett knew it. Now she did, too.

"Good morning."

She mumbled something he couldn't quite understand, and Beckett smiled and went over to her coffee pot and started a pot of coffee. That'd help wake her up – and if it didn't, well, he could use a cup of coffee.

Melony was sprawled right where she'd fallen asleep the night before – still dressed in those bright red scrubs that they'd put her in when she'd first returned from her Wraith hunt. When she sat up, though, she decided the first thing she needed was a change of clothes – right after a shower.

_I don't know that a shower is such a good idea_

I'm not hurt, right? No open wounds to sting me.

_No. But I'm not all that sure you can stay upright for that long_

Melony scowled.

It's been a week since I've had a shower, Talon. I feel gritty and dirty.

_It's psychological,_ he assure her._ You're not all that dirty_

But-

_It's up to you, Melony. You know how much trouble you had getting here last night, though._

"Is Talon talking to you, or are you still asleep?"

She turned her attention outward, realizing that Carson had come over and was standing by her bed.

"We're sort of arguing..."

"Oh? I thought the two of you never argued?"

Melony smiled.

"We get along well, but we have the occasional differences – this time it's about whether or not I can take a shower."

"You can't."

"What?"

_Ha! Told you._

"From what I heard, you barely made it out of your room last night," Carson told her, smiling at the sudden scowl on her face. "You wouldn't be able to stand long enough to take a shower."

"I'd take a short one..."

"No."

"Carson..."

"Melony. No. You'd fall or worse, and as your doctor I'm telling you not to do it. As you're friend, I'm going to insist that you don't do it."

You can wait another day

She sighed, and flopped backwards on her bed.

_Don't pout_

I'm not pouting.

She looked cute when she pouted, Carson thought to himself, careful to keep his amusement to himself, and making damned certain he didn't share that last thought aloud.

"Just give it a day, Melony," he said. "You should be more steady-"

_Don't sulk, either_

I'm not sulking.

_Yeah, you are, and you're going to make him feel guilty if you keep it up and it's not his fault_

"No, I know it isn't."

"What isn't what?" Beckett asked.

She looked up at him, and smiled ruefully.

"I'm sorry, Carson."

"For what?"

"Being difficult, I suppose. I'm-"

"You're not being that difficult, Melony," he told her, sitting down on the corner of her bed. "I can understand that you're not feeling very well. Relax today, and if you're still not steady tomorrow, I'll have someone come and help you in the shower tomorrow."

_Or he could help you himself_

Beckett didn't understand why Melony suddenly turned beet red, or why she suddenly started laughing, but he had to assume Talon had said something to her. He smiled – she had a contagious laugh – and wished he had a clue what had been said to make her laugh like that. At least she didn't look so sullen any more.

"Do I dare ask?"

She shook her head, still grinning.

"Please don't..."

"That bad?"

"Oh, yeah..."

He started to say something, but her stomach growled suddenly – loudly. She flushed again, and Carson smiled.

"Think you can make it down to the commissary for some breakfast, or should I go get you something to eat?"

"I'd rather get up. Besides, I need to walk around a little and try to get some muscle tone back."

He was glad to hear her say that, since he agreed completely. He stood up, and went over to the stack of uniforms she had sitting on the boxes by her dresser and tossed one onto the bed next to her.

"You get dressed, and I'll wait outside for you."

She nodded, and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was a very unsteady Colonel Mitchell who walked into the commissary a half an hour later, leaning heavily on Beckett, who had an arm around her keeping her upright. He saw Weir sitting at a table with Sheppard and guided Mitchell over to their table. Both of them looked up as Mitchell and Beckett approached, and John took her arm when she came within reach. She looked about ready to fall over.

"You okay?"

She nodded, "Just tired as hell."

"She's been in bed too long," Carson explained as he and Sheppard helped her sit down on the bench seat. "It's almost like learning to walk all over again." He patted her shoulder. "I'll go get you something to eat."

"And coffee, please?"

Beckett nodded and left.

"How do you feel?" Weir asked her as soon as the doctor was out of hearing.

"Besides tired," Sheppard added.

"A lot better than I have any right to feel," she said, smiling. "Thanks for the assist, by the way."

Sheppard smiled. "You looked like you had it all under control right up until the end."

"I did. Then we decided to let the Wraith feed so Talon could try and figure out what makes them tick."

Weir looked shocked.

"You did it on _purpose_?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time."


	48. 48

"But not such a good idea now?"

Melony shook her head.

"It was getting bad, from what I understand. If Talon hadn't managed to figure out how to reverse the process and send a-"

"_Reverse_ the process?" Weir asked, just as Rodney came over to join them, carrying a tray filled with pancakes and sausages. Melony felt herself start drooling, but stopped just shy of stealing a piece of sausage and answered Weir's question instead.

"Yes." She shrugged. "I haven't actually discussed the details with him yet, so I don't understand it exactly, but the Wraith form a sort of bond with the person they're feeding on – a really nasty one, mind you – but it's similar to the one I have with Talon. Only their bond is one-sided. I guess that's what keeps the person from escaping them once they start feeding – that and the fact that it hurts like hell."

McKay shuddered, and he wasn't the only one. Melony started to apologize – obviously this wasn't really a good topic for breakfast discussion – but then Carson appeared beside her with a tray in his hands. He set the tray on the table and sat down beside her – putting her between McKay and himself – and handed over a cup of steaming coffee and a plate almost as loaded as Rodney's. Another plate for himself, and a cup of tea, and he looked at everyone curiously.

"Why's everyone looking so pale?"

"Colonel Mitchell here was just explaining to us how the Wraith feed," Sheppard said, shrugging. "Go on, Colonel."

"It can wait until we're done eating..."

"Nah, I'm interested."

"I am, too," Elizabeth said, agreeing. "Please, continue."

She nodded, taking a chance to take a sip of her coffee. Ah, hot and fresh. Perfect.

_The story, Hot shot_

Bah.

"So anyways, they form this bond to keep their prey from getting away, and normally that wouldn't be a problem, since it's not like a person can do anything about it once it's there – most of them are probably so wrapped up in the pain that they don't even realize it's there."

"And they don't live long enough to worry about it anyways," Sheppard speculated.

Mitchell nodded.

"Probably. I was different, though, because of Talon. He had a chance to see this bond in action, and use it against the Wraith."

"What did he do?" Rodney asked, fascinated in a morbid way – kind of like how a little boy wants to see someone else's cuts and warts.

"I'm not exactly positive," She admitted. "It's fairly complex, and I'm not-"

_Let me explain it_

Okay.

She broke off.

"Talon's going to explain it."

The symbiote took over, and the others noticed immediately. Where Melony's voice was soft and a bit tired just then, Talon's was deep and strong. It was the same voice they'd hear din the infirmary telling them that the Wraith didn't exist.

"Part of my genetic makeup allows me to use my host's energies to fuel a kind of healing," Talon said. "When the Wraith formed its bond with Melony, I was bonded to it as well, and had complete access to its energies. They are extremely powerful, and although it took me a few moments to figure out how they worked compared to my own – or to Melony's – I was able to use it to implement a reversal in its feeding. Instead of it stealing Melony's life force, I turned that around, sending its life into Melony to repair the damage it had done to her while at the same time working a sort of reverse healing on the creature and sending a shot of pain to its heart that eventually was so great it was forced to release her."

"Which is why it fell backward," Sheppard hazarded. "We'd been waiting for an open shot, but I was starting to think I wasn't going to find one."

Melony nodded, but Talon was still in control.

"Yes."

"So Colonel Mitchell isn't going to suffer a loss of years or anything from the Wraith feeding on her?"

"Not at all," Talon said, and the deep voice was slightly smug and maybe even a shade arrogant. "As a matter of fact, if we went back out and found another Wraith, I would be able to add years to her life in a similar fashion to what they do, now that I know how."

Melony took over then.

"But we're not going to, because I'm not going to let another one of them touch me if I can avoid it."

There were nods all around.

_I wasn't planning on doing it. I was just telling them I could_

I know.

She did, too. He wouldn't risk her that close to the Wraith again. Not without proper backup and safety measures.

"So could he have killed the Wraith?" Sheppard asked.

"Eventually." Melony said. "But I was the weak link, because I was going into shock from the initial pain of the contact – Talon couldn't heal me or even protect me from it because he was too occupied with the Wraith."

"So you're basically Wraith-proof, now," McKay said. "If he knows how to hurt them to make them let go when they start to feed, then you can't be killed by them."

"They have other weapons," Sheppard said.

Melony nodded.

"Exactly. I won't have to worry about them _feeding_ on me, but they could still shoot me or whatever."

"That's not much of an advantage, then," Weir said. "You risked your life for nothing."

"Not 'nothing', Doctor Weir," Melony disagreed. "We found a weakness – this bond they form when they feed. There have to be other weaknesses, and it's just a matter of finding them and finding a way to exploit them. They're potent, but they're _not_ indestructible."

"It's not going to be easy."

She shook her head.

"Nothing worth doing ever is."

"So what are your plans, then, Colonel?" Weir asked. "Obviously, you're as cut of from Earth as we are."

"And you're the ranking military officer on the base," Sheppard added.

Melony frowned.

"I wasn't _supposed_ to be, you know," she said, taking a sip of coffee to hide the pain caused by the remembered loss of Colonel Sumner. "I made sure there was someone here that out-ranked me just so I wouldn't have to worry about taking charge of anything."

"But you're-"

"I'm not going to take command of the base, Major Sheppard," Mitchell said. "I'm on special assignment away from the SGC at the moment, anyways, so I'm not sure I really would have the _authority_ to take command anyways – and I _know_ I don't have the desire to. What I will do is continue working on the Wraith problem – alone _and_ with you all." Her gaze went to Beckett for just a moment. "Of course, I'll place myself at your disposal so if you need an extra hand for a mission – or if there's something else I can do to help then I'll do it, but you folks have a primary duty to find yourselves a power source to get back to Earth – or at least get a message back to Earth."

"What's _your_ primary duty, then?" Weir asked.

Sheppard already knew the answer, though. Even before she spoke up.

"I'm going to find a way to finish the Wraith."

"It can't be done," McKay said. "There are millions of them – _billions_. How are you going to-"

"I haven't figured it out, yet," Melony said, shrugging. "But I'll tell you this much; there was a time when people said that there was nothing that could be done about the Goa'uld, either."

Weir smiled. She had a point. Picking up her coffee cup, Elizabeth waved it towards the Colonel.

"Welcome to Atlantis, Colonel Mitchell."


	49. 49

They enjoyed their breakfast after that. The talk changed to other topics – mostly Melony, since now that she had told them she was definitely planning on sticking around, they wanted to know a bit more about her. She let them in on her childhood and relationship with Jack O'Neill, but Beckett noticed she didn't share anything about Brad Anderson or the other lost members of the SG-2 team that Melony had once led.

He, of course, didn't say anything. If Melony didn't want to share, then he wasn't going to press her to. It did make him feel good that she'd shared it with him, though. Everyone needed someone to share with their pain with – that was what made it more bearable, right?

One by one they finished eating and drifted off to carious duties, well aware that there would be plenty of time for more storytelling later – who knew how long they had, after all? Eventually it was just Melony and Carson. Melony because she hadn't quite decided whether she was ready to try her tired legs again, and Carson because he knew when she _did_ try them tired legs she'd probably end up needing a bit of help.

A cook came and cleared the dishes before they had a chance to deal with them, and Beckett turned to Melony.

"What are your plans?"

"For the Wraith?"

"No, for the rest of the day."

She smiled.

"I don't know... I figured I'd hobble around a bit. Try to get some mileage on my feet while staying out of the way. Maybe go looking around a bit more. How about you?"

"I don't have anything to do." He admitted. "I suppose I could go inventory tongue depressors and band-aids."

"Or you could come keep me from falling on my face..."

He smiled.

"Or I _could_ come keep you from falling on your face – or at lest be there to help you up when you fall over from trying too hard."

"That'd be nice."

"Are you done?" He gestured to her empty coffee cup.

She nodded.

"You _really_ don't have anything to do?"

"Nope. I rarely do unless someone gets hurt – so I don't mind being out of work, I assure you."

"I bet."

She started to get to her feet and found that was a struggle in itself. She'd been in one position too long, apparently, and not even Talon could really do much to help her get the stiffness out.

_I'm not a Stair Master, you know_

Yeah, yeah.

She staggered, held tightly by Carson who had anticipated the problems and was close at hand to help her.

"God..."

"It won't be long," he promised her, smiling reassuringly. "You're young and healthy, you'll recover quickly."

_Not to mention you have me_

Melony nodded, and draped her arm over Beckett's shoulder, trying not to use his help too much but knowing that she was going to need it for a few minutes at least – until she worked the stiffness out of her legs from sitting at the breakfast table too long.

You know, a _better_ symbiote would probably have me running the 3 minute mile by now, she told him playfully.

_A better symbiote would have you tripping so the good doctor would be forced to carry you in his arms back to your bed where he'd be forced to lavish you with all sorts of pampering and maybe even-_

_Stop_! You win.

She was already blushing, and even though he hadn't said anything else, she had felt from his amusement exactly what he was going to say next – and it was going to be naughty.

_What'd I say?_

She gave him a purely mental poke, and tried to get her blushes under control before Beckett noticed. Hopefully if he did, he'd just assume the redness was from the effort of walking – even though they were going slow.

They walked out of the commissary and headed down the hall towards one of the elevators, but before they'd gone more than half the distance, Major Sheppard was there.

"Colonel Mitchell...? Do you have a minute?"

She nodded; she had all the time in the world, apparently. Which was a good thing, since it'd probably take her half that just to get back to her quarters at this rate.

"Sure."

"I wanted to talk to you for a minute..."

Melony nodded again. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you, too, Major."

"I'm not going to listen in on what is probably some boring tactical Military chatter," Beckett told them both, transferring Melony's right arm that was draped over his shoulder over to Sheppard, who took his spot willingly. "Take her out into the sunshine, Major and let her get some fresh air while you talk. I'll come find her in a short while."

It was his way of giving them privacy, and John appreciated it. He helped Mitchell walk out onto one of the decks that overlooked the city, and Melony leaned heavily against the protective railing, allowing him both hands free.

Sheppard reached behind his back and pulled out the Beretta she'd handed to him the night before her Wraith hunt.

"I thought you might like this back." He told her, handing it over.

She took it from him with a genuine smile, and nodded.

"Thank you, Major. I appreciate you holding onto it for me."

"You're probably going to need it more than I will – and I think General O'Neill would kick my ass if he knew I'd let you go Wraith hunting without it."

"Jack's a pussycat."

"Uh huh."

Mitchell smiled, and looked down at the various parts of the city below, and then out at the water that surrounded them.

"Major... I just wanted to tell you... what you did, shooting Colonel Sumner before the Wraith could kill him? You did the right thing."

John shook his head. It was something that he agonized over often – especially when he was alone in bed staring up at the ceiling and his thoughts managed to get the best of him.

"I don't know..."

"I do." She said. "I know – _knew_ – Marshal Sumner. Knew him as well as anyone did and better than most. We were good friends. I also happen to be very well aware of just how much a feeding Wraith hurts – and I'll admit that if you had missed the Wraith and shot me when you fired the Jumper's weapon, I would have appreciated it."

She looked over at him, her pale eyes filled with sincerity.

"You did him a favor killing him."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't, Major. There was no symbiote to save him, and no way he could have survived. You ended the pain. I would have done it for him, too."

"Without hesitation?"

She shook her head.

"No, and not without having my doubts about it later. You're only human, you know? We're good at thinking and rethinking what actions we take and trying to find new ones for next time. In this case, though, I don't think you could have."

He was quiet for a long time, looking out over the water. She didn't say anything, either, knowing that he was wrestling with something he'd probably never had to face before. She'd never faced it either, so she could well understand. Finally, though, he nodded.

"Thank you, Colonel."

"I thought you should hear it..."

"I needed to."

She nodded, and he noticed that even though he felt better, the sadness in her own eyes was still there, lurking behind the rest of the emotions that he could read there. He wondered what had happened to her that caused it, and wondered what – if anything – could make it go away.

"I'd better get back to my duty charts," he said, reaching out and putting his hand over hers for just a moment – a gesture of thanks. "Do you want me to help you get anywhere?"

She shook her head, giving him a slight smile and squeezing his hand for just the briefest of moments.

"Nah, if I make him come looking for me, Becker will probably just give me one of those doctor lectures... doctors are very good at lecturing wayward patients, I've noticed."

"That they are."

"A little sun won't kill me, and it feels good out here. I'll talk to you later, Major."

"Yes, you will."

They had quite a while, after all. He let her hand go, and headed back inside, leaving her standing at the rail looking out over the ocean and the city. Her new home.

_For now, anyways_

Yup.


	50. Epilogue

_Epilogue _

"I'm not so sure this is such a great idea..."

"It's perfectly safe, Carson," Melony assured him, holding her hand out to him. "I won't let anything happen to you."

The doctor looked over at McKay, who didn't look any more comfortable than he did.

"Maybe you should take Rodney, first."

"_I'm_ not going first," McKay said, scowling. "I'm not even so sure that I'm going to go _second_..." he looked at the water that was gently lapping at the sun-warmed metal that formed the edges of the 'beach', and bit his lower lip nervously. "You know... we haven't actually assessed the water around the city all that completely. There might very well be a plethora of sea creatures out here that are just itching to eat someone who's foolish enough to get into the water."

"We've done all sorts of tests on the waters around the city, Doctor McKay," Peter Grodin assured him, smiling. The young man was wearing a pair of shorts and nothing else, and had a towel draped over his shoulder. "There's nothing in there that will hurt you."

"_Drowning_ would hurt me," McKay said, scowling when Jinto and a horde of other Athosian children came rushing past them and jumped into the water with excited squeals.

Melony smiled, but turned her attention to the medical doctor. Her hand still held out to him, and her pale eyes entreating him to trust her, Melony was waiting for him to decide whether he trusted her enough to keep him from drowning.

"Nothing will happen to you."

Beckett sighed, and reached for her hand.

"That's probably what the people were told as they were getting on the _Titanic_," Rodney said, watching as Mitchell rewarded Beckett with a genuine smile that actually reached her eyes, making them practically sparkle.

Lieutenant Ford was already in the water, treading easily and waiting for Melony to join him with Beckett for the doctor's first swimming lesson. He, too, was wearing only a pair of shorts, and he'd been the first one in the water that day.

Melony and Ford had spent a few days during Melony's recovery looking for an ideal place to swim. The way the city floated on the water, there were a number of inlets that made for good swimming areas, but the two of them had been looking for something special. Something that would catch the sun most of the day and maybe even have enough flat space around it that the majority of the crew could hang out there in their free time.

They'd found it, eventually, and the two had spent several more days swimming the length of the area at various times of the day, making sure that there were no currents that might come sneaking up on an unwary swimmer and making sure that there was more than one area where they could put a make-shift ladder to help people get out of the water. They had Grodin and a couple of others do an analysis of the water to make sure it was safe for swimming, and then another of the area to make sure Jaws wasn't lurking in the wings, waiting for an easy snack. The area was perfect.

Then it was simply a matter of convincing some of the more reluctant to come and use it.

Several strong swimmers were put to dual roles of lifeguard and swimming instructors, and no one was allowed to swim alone. Aside from that, the water was there, always below them, so it might as well be put to use.

Shorts had been found in clothing bags – or were made by cutting off the legs of a uniform – and more than one of the women had decided that panties and a sports bra were just as good as a bikini, and no more revealing than anything else being worn.

Mitchell had agreed, and after the first several days of swimming with Ford to test the waters she had managed to get a fine tan in the hot Atlantean sunshine. Thanks to Talon, she didn't carry any scars on her, and her skin was as smooth as cream – which made more than one of the men on base take more than a second or third look when she'd appeared at the water on the first official swimming day with a very nervous Carson Beckett at her side, preparing for his first swimming lesson.

"If I drown..."

She smiled.

"You won't. I promise."

"I'll give you mouth to mouth," Ford promised.

"Oh, well _that's_ something to look forward to..." He looked down at the water once more, and Mitchell could see his courage failing him. "Maybe I should just sit here for-"

"Carson..." Melony pulled him towards one of the ladders leading into the water. "I won't let anything hurt you. Trust me."

She released his hand and jumped into the water, then swam over to the ladder, gesturing for Ford to join her.

"See? We're right here..."

"Come on, Doc," Ford said, grinning. "It's easy!"

"It's easy if you've done it before..." Beckett mumbled to himself. But he took hold of the ladder, and lowered himself into the water.

Still clutching the ladder, he turned to look at them, and Melony started the lesson, showing him what position he should be in, and how his arms were supposed to move when he swam. Ford added in a few other helpful tidbits and the two of him finally convinced him to release the ladder, each one taking one of his hands and pulling him only a few feet from the edge. That way he was close enough that if he panicked he could grab hold.

Which he did. More than once. Way more than once. Melony and Ford were patient, though, and even better, they were good teachers. Before an hour was up, the doctor had managed to pull off a fairly respectable dog paddle, and even better had more confidence in his ability to stay afloat. Enough that he'd moved further from the edge when Melony had motioned for him to follow her out a little.

"Ready, McKay?"

Rodney looked over and saw Sheppard had approached him while he'd been watching Beckett's lesson. The Major was dressed like everyone else; in shorts and a towel. Everyone except Rodney, who was wearing a t-shirt – so he didn't burn, he'd told them.

"Ready for what?"

"Your swimming lesson." Weir told him, coming up beside them as well. She was dressed similarly to Melony and the other women, but she was also wearing a t-shirt – so she didn't burn. Of course, she really _was_ worried about a sunburn and not hiding the affect of one or two too many extra helpings at dinner time.

"I'm not sure I-"

"Aw, come on, McKay," Sheppard said. "Beckett's doing it."

"He's only doing it because Colonel Mitchell is _making_ him."

"Well, I'm going to make you."

"You don't look at all like Colonel Mitchell," Rodney said, crossing his arms over his chest in his most stubborn pose. Sheppard looked over at the water, saw that Ford was close at hand, and then pushed, hard. McKay went sailing into the water with a surprised yelp.

"I _told_ you I was going to make you," Sheppard said, grinning as Ford swam over to help Rodney to the side where he could clutch at the edge of the 'beach' and glare at Sheppard.

"That wasn't funny. I could have drowned..."

"It's easy!" Beckett told Rodney, paddling past with Melony treading water right beside him, watching him carefully.

McKay scowled, but he couldn't really let Beckett do something that he couldn't. It just went against his nature. He sighed, and watched as John dove neatly into the water and swam over to hang out next to Ford.

"Fine... show me what to do..."

OOOOOOOO

"You did great," Mitchell said an hour or so later.

"I had a great teacher."

The two of them had finally called it a day – they were the first to do so – and were walking together through the bowels of the city, heading back to the living areas, but taking a long about approach since they didn't have anything else to do and Melony liked looking around the more deserted areas.

She smiled, not immune to the compliment, and he reached for her hand, almost hesitantly, deciding that while he had her alone like this, he might as well initiate a discussion that he needed to have with her.

"Melony..."

She stopped.

"I just wanted to let you know how much I have enjoyed spending time with you..."

Melony felt just a little gooey inside. While she'd been recovering her strength, it had been Beckett who had taken to spending time with her, making sure she didn't get frustrated or wear herself out trying to hard, and she'd found that he was really good company – and not just because of the accent.

"You're good company, Carson," she told him. "And a good man."

Now it was his turn to blush, and he looked down. Which made him look down her bathing suit. Which made him blush even more brilliantly as he averted his gaze. Melony smiled, and touched his cheek – she could feel the heat of his blush even through the neatly trimmed beard.

"I'm not ready for much of a relationship..." she told him, softly.

"I know."

He did, too. She was still aching over the loss of her Major – and he'd seen the pain in her eyes well to the surface more than once as something was said or done that would remind her of Brad Anderson. But she was getting better, and he knew it – more importantly, she knew it as well. And she knew that life had to go on. Eventually.

"I _will_ be, though." She said.

"And I'll be waiting when you are..."

He pulled her into his arms, then, holding her sun-warmed body close against his own and pressing his cheek against hers and running his fingers through her short, blonde hair. They had time. Plenty of time, and it wasn't as though either of them were going anywhere anytime soon. She was still obsessed with finding the answers to the problem of the Wraith, and he was determined to help her as much as he could with the medical aspect of whatever she wanted to do, but there were other things to think about, too. Other options to explore eventually, and when she was ready to explore those other options, he'd be there, waiting for her to let go of the ladder and plunge back into the waters.

_The end_

_Author's Note: So there it is! My first crossover and my chance to bring Mitchell into a world that I truly am beginning to love (Atlantis) It's not the end, of course, but it is the end of this story – even though there's much much more to tell, and more stories to explore and more people to meet. Besides, the Wraith still need to be dealt with, eh? Let me know what you think!_


End file.
